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Christian  worship 


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CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 


DELIVERED   IN   THE    UNION   THEOLOGICAL 

SEMINARY,    NEW   YORK,  IN  THE 

AUTUMN  OF  1896 


BY 

Charles  Cuthbert  Hall,  D.D.;  Alexander  V.  G.  Allen, 
D.  D. ;  Egbert  C.  Smyth,  D.D.  ;  Charles  C.  Tiffany, 
D.  D.;  Henry  Eyster  Jacobs,  D.  D.,  LL.D.;  William 
'^upp,  D.  D. ;  William  R.  Huntington,  D.  D.  ;  Allan 
ToLLOK,  D.I). ;  George  Dana  Boardman,  D.D.,  LL.D.; 
Thomas  S.  ^Hastings,  D.  D.,  LL.D. 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 

1897 


Copyright,  1897, 
By  Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 


5Snibersttg  ^rcss: 
John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 


THIS  volume  contains  a  history  of  Christian  Wor- 
ship, and  an  exposition  of  the  methods  of 
worship  in  use  in  the  chief  religious  bodies  of  Chris- 
tendom. Ten  representative  divines,  chosen  from 
seven  religious  denominations,  present  the  historic 
modes  of  worship  from  their  different  points  of  view. 
The  result  is  a  remarkable  consensus  of  opinion  on 
this  great  subject  and  a  substantial  unity  in  the 
midst  of  a  rich  variety  of  form  and  method. 

A  Director  in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary 
generously  provided  for  these  lectures.  They  were 
delivered  in  the  Adams  Chapel  of  the  Seminary  dur- 
ing the  months  of  October,  November,  and  December, 
1896.  They  attracted  great  attention  not  only  in  the 
city  in  which  they  were  delivered,  but  also  in  other 
parts  of  the  country.  It  is  hoped  that  in  their  printed 
form  they  may  interest  a  still  wider  circle  and  con- 
tribute to  a  richer,  more  expressive,  and  more  uplifting 
Christian  Worship  throughout  the  Church. 


CONTENTS 


I 

Page 
The  Principles  of  Christian  Worship 3 

By  the  Rev.  Chakles  Cuthbert  Hall,  D.D.,  President-Elect 
of  the  Faculty  of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  New  York 
City. 

II 

Primitive  Christian  Liturgies 33 

By  the  Rev.  A.  V.  G.  Allen,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical 
History  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Theological  School  in  Cam- 
bridge, Mass. 

Ill 

The  Greek  Liturgies 77 

By  the  Rev.  Egbert  C.  Smyth,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Church 
History  in  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  Andover,  Mass. 

IV 

The  Roman  Liturgies 107 

By  the  Rev.  Charles  C.  Tiffany,  D.D.,  Archdeacon  of  New 
York  City. 

V 

i-  The  Lutheran  Liturgies 137 

By  the  Rev.  Henry  Eyster  Jacobs,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of 
Systematic  Theology  in  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Seminary, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


VIU  CONTENTS 

^^  Page 

The  Liturgies  of  the  Reformed  Churches  .     .     .     179 

By  the  Rev.  William  Rupp,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Practical  The- 
ology in  the  Reformed  Theological  Seminary,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

VII 

The  Book  of  Common  Prayer 213 

By  the  Rev.  William  R.  Huntington,  D.D.,  Rector  of  Grace 
Church,  New  York  City. 

VIII 
The  Book  of  Common  Order  and  the  Directory 

FOR  Worship 249 

By  the  Rev.  Allan  Pollok,  D.D.,  Principal  of  the  Presbj'terian 
College,  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia. 

IX 

Worship  in  Non-Liturgical  Churches 281 

By  the  Rev.  George  Dana  Boardman,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Honorary 
Pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

X 

^    The  Ideal  of  Christian  Worship 311 

By  the  Rev.  Titomas  S.  Hastings,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President  of 
the  Faculty  of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  New  York 
City. 


THE   PEINCIPLES   OF   CHRISTIAN 
WORSHIP 

By  the  Rev.  CHARLES  CUTHBERT  HALL,  D.D. 

President-elect  of  the  Faculty  of  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  New  York 


THE 
PRINCIPLES  OF  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

MY  first  duty,  under  the  theme  assigned,  is  to 
point  out  the  relation  which  may  be  assumed 
to  exist  between  this  lecture  and  the  lectures  fol- 
lowing in  this  course.  The  following  lectures  may 
be  expected  for  the  most  part  to  deal  historically 
with  certain  liturgical  types  which  from  time  to 
time  have  contributed  to  the  continuity  of  Christian 
Worship.  By  considering  successively  the  Primitive 
Christian,  the  Greek,  the  Roman,  and  the  later 
liturgies,  the  student-auditor  will  be  encouraged  to 
comprehend,  within  broad  lines  of  treatment,  domi- 
nant modes  of  expression  through  which  the  worship- 
sense  of  the  Christian  society  has  found  utterance 
in  the  past.  He  will  also  be  prepared  to  view  the 
present  in  the  rich  light  of  history  and  tradition, 
and  to  estimate  worthily  the  office  and  the  methods 
of  worship  in  contemporary  life  and  the  ideals  of 
worship  in  the  future. 

That  the  broadest  foundations  may  be  laid  for  a 
course  of  thought  which,  even  in  outline,  has  great 


4  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

and  solemn  beauty,  and  that  the  chronological  devel- 
opment of  Christian  Worship  may  be  joined  in  the 
mind  of  the  student  with  those  Divine  and  human 
principles  and  laws  antecedent  to  an  intelligent 
liturgiology,  the  projectors  of  this  series  have  inti- 
mated that  the  first  lecture  shall  contain  some 
account  of  those  principles,  intellectual,  moral,  and 
religious,  which  underlie  the  institution  of  Christian 
Worship,  and  by  which  it  is  commended  to  rational 
and  devout  minds. 

With  this  explanation  of  the  prefatory  or  intro- 
ductory character  of  the  present  occasion,  I  shall 
proceed  to  treat  of  the  Principles  of  Christian 
Worship. 

In  order  to  do  this  it  becomes  necessary  to  lay 
down  a  definition  of  the  specific  sense  which  we 
shall  attach  to  the  word  "worship,"  as  used  in  this 
lecture.  For,  upon  reflection,  it  appears  that  the 
flexibility  of  language  allows  a  variable  use  of  the 
word,  which  at  one  moment  may  convey  to  the  mind 
an  impression  differing  from  that  given  at  another 
moment.  Thus,  three  distinct  applications  of  the 
word  "worship"  enter  into  our  common  speech.  It 
is  employed  respectively  to  indicate  a  permanent 
state  of  consciousness,  or  the  concrete  expression  of 
religious  emotion  by  an  individual,  or,  as  on  the 
present  occasion,  the  common  devout  exercises  of 
the  Christian  society.  It  is  worth  while  to  pause 
and  briefly  to  examine  these  distinctions  occurring 
in  the  variable  use  of  the  single  word. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP  5 

When  Charles  Kingsley  uttered  that  most  virile 
and  suggestive  sentence,  "Worship  is  a  life,  not  a 
ceremony,"  he  conceived  of  worship  as  a  permanent 
state  of  consciousness.     Such  does  it  become  to  the 
soul  thoroughly  alive  unto  God,  —  a  life,  not  a  cere- 
mony.    The  operations  of  the  Godward  sense  cannot 
in  such  a  soul  be  limited  to  the  prescribed  functions 
of  certain  days  and  of  certain  places.     Love,  casting 
out  fear,  beholds  God  in  the  face  of  Christ,  glorify- 
ing all  life,  and  co-ordinating  in  the  unity  of  the 
Spirit  and  in  the  bond  of  peace  all  times,  places, 
duties,  and  relationships.     The  knowledge  of  redemp- 
tion sheds  upon  life  an  almost  eucharistic  gladness. 
Prayer  verges  toward  companionship,  and  the  humble 
things   that  grow   by  the  wayside   gleam  with   the 
unconsuming    fire   of    new    and    nobler    meanings. 
Worship  becomes  a  permanent  state  of  consciousness. 
But  the  term  also  and  more  frequently  serves  to 
indicate  the  concrete  expression  of  religious  emotion 
by  the  individual.     That  worship  may  be,  as  Kingsley 
finely  said,  a  life,  not  a  mere  ceremony,  does  not 
invalidate  the  thought  of  times  when  the  individual 
consciousness   is   moved  to    seek   formal    and   con- 
crete expression  of  its   emotions  toward  God.     In 
this,   worship   and   love   are   alike.      Love   may  be 
"a  life,'*  involving  the  entirety  of  a  man's  being, 
and   sweeping  like  a  tide  "too  full   for   sound   or 
foam"   beneath   all  his  thought;  but   love   has   its 
times  of  demonstration,  its   resistless   moments  of 
the  heart's  outpouring,   its  sacramental  hours  and 


6  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

deeds  wherein  the  inward  passion  fulfils  itself  in 
outward  and  visible  signs.  The  heart  of  Christ 
was  a  shrine  of  perpetual  worship.  Concerning  this 
permanent  attitude  toward  the  Father  He  said:  "I 
do  always  those  things  that  please  Him."  Yet 
Christ  knew  and  obeyed  that  psychic  law  which 
accentuates  the  devout  life  with  occasions  of  formal 
and  concrete  expression;  and  He  who  lived  in  the 
constant  light  of  God's  face  would  yet  rise  at  day- 
break to  seek  that  face  in  prayer  among  the  waking 
birds  upon  the  mountain-side.  Therefore  we  speak 
of  worship  as  the  expression  of  the  devout  life, 
when  in  the  solitude  of  the  closet,  or  in  the  com- 
panionable loneliness  of  nature,  or  at  the  family 
altar,  or  in  the  house  of  prayer,  the  heart  which  be- 
lieves that  God  is,  and  that  He  is  the  rewarder  of 
them  that  diligently  seek  Him,  pours  itself  forth 
before  Him  with  the  consent  of  the  will  and  the 
eagerness  of  the  affections. 

Another  application  of  the  word  "  worship  *' 
remains  to  be  considered,  and  brings  us  immedi- 
ately in  touch  with  the  specific  end  of  this  lecture. 
Worship  is  one  of  the  primary  functions  of  the 
Christian  society,  in  the  evolution  of  its  common 
and  corporate  life.  There  are  other  primary  func- 
tions named  and  described  in  the  Apostolic  letters 
of  the  New  Testament.  Evangelization  is  a  primary 
function,  the  heralding,  in  the  ears  of  every  creature, 
of  the  gospel,  the  good  news  of  God.  Social  tender- 
ness is  a  primary  function,  —  not  an  incident,  but  an 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP  7 

ordained  function.  Love  is  the  fulfilment  of  law, 
and  love  is  to  be  the  dominant  note  of  progress  in 
the  brotherhood  of  the  Son  of  God,  —  the  sympathy 
of  all  the  members  in  the  sufferings  of  one.  Govern- 
ment is  a  primary  function.  That  is  to  say,  the 
self-government  of  the  society,  under  the  counsel  of 
the  Spirit,  through  its  own  teachers;  not  as  lords 
over  God's  heritage,  but  as  interpreters  of  the  Word 
and  shepherds  of  the  flock.  Education  is  a  primary 
function,  —  the  edifying,  the  building  up  of  the  body 
of  Christ,  that  membership  therein  may  be  not 
nominal  but  organic,  membership  of  His  flesh  and 
of  His  bones.  Separation  is  a  primary  function,  at 
times,  alas,  more  honored  in  the  breach  than  in  the 
observance ;  not  cenobitism,  not  corporate  seclusion, 
but  spiritual  differentiation,  in  motive,  in  conduct, 
in  ideal,  from  the  world  that  lieth  in  the  Evil  One. 
And  so  also  in  the  constitution  of  the  Christian 
society,  worship  is  a  primary  function;  worship 
not  alone  in  the  individualistic  sense  already  con- 
sidered, but  worship  distinctively  regarded  as  service 
collectively  rendered  unto  God;  common  prayer, 
common  praise,  common  liturgical  and  sacramental 
usage.  It  is  not  enough  that  men  shall  pray  every- 
where, lifting  up  holy  hands  without  wrath  and 
doubting;  not  enough  that  the  worshipper  shall  enter 
into  the  closet  to  commune  apart  with  Him  who 
seeth  in  secret.  For  reasons  which  may  be  plainly 
discerned,  and  which  it  is  our  intention  presently  to 
enumerate,  there  must  be  more  than  the  devout  con- 


8  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

sciousness,  more  also  than  the  individualistic  out- 
pouring. There  must  be  the  worshipping  assembly, 
the  coming  together,  the  convening  of  believers,  for 
solemn  transactions  with  God  which  shall  be  for  a 
memorial  before  the  Most  High,  for  a  testimony 
before  the  world,  and  for  the  nourishment  and  con- 
solation of  the  body  of  Christ  on  earth. 

Such  is  the  place  of  Public  Worship  in  the  organic 
structure  of  historic  Christianity;  a  primary  func- 
tion, an  Apostolic  rule,  a  permanent  institution ;  not 
the  ephemeral  product  of  local  excitement,  but  the 
steadfast,  universal  practice  of  the  Church,  to  be 
continuously  maintained  during  the  undefined  period 
of  the  Lord's  absence,  and  to  grow  more  intense  and 
engrossing  as  the  signs  multiply  that  foretell  the 
nearness  of  the  Second  Advent.  The  common  wor- 
ship is  to  have  reached  its  maximum  of  power  and 
earnestness,  in  the  watchful  Church,  when  the 
Parousia  of  the  Lord  is  at  hand.  Perhaps  the 
supreme  example  of  the  New  Testament  estimate  of 
a  common  worship,  as  a  constant  and  cumulative 
function  of  the  Christian  society,  occurs  in  that  most 
moving  exhortation  in  the  Epistle  of  the  Hebrews, 
"  Having  therefore,  brethren,  boldness  to  enter  into 
the  holy  place  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  the  way 
which  He  dedicated  for  us,  a  new  and  living  way, 
through  the  veil,  that  is  to  say.  His  flesh;  and 
having  a  great  priest  over  the  house  of  God;  let 
us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart  in  fulness  of  faith, 
having  our  hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience, 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP  9 

and  our  body  washed  with  pure  water:  let  us  hold 
fast  the  confession  of  our  hope  that  it  waver  not ;  for 
He  is  faithful  that  promised:  and  let  us  consider 
one  another,  to  provoke  unto  love  and  good  works ; 
not  forsaking  the  assembling  of  ourselves  together, 
as  the  custom  of  some  is,  but  exhorting  one  another; 
and  so  much  the  more,  as  ye  see  the  day  drawing 
nigh."i 

Having  now  defined  the  place  of  Public  Worship 
in  the  structure  of  historic  Christianity,  and  having 
discriminated  between  this  specific  use  of  the  word 
"  worship  "  and  such  other  uses  as  may  imply  indi- 
vidual acts  of  devotion,  or,  more  broadly,  the  general 
attitude  of  a  life  in  its  reverence  for  God,  it  is  well 
to  gain  a  more  exact  view  of  this  great  and  venerable 
institution  by  noting  what  appear  to  be  its  essential 
contents.  Not  without  some  approximate  agreement 
as  to  the  contents  of  the  institution  of  Christian 
worship  can  we  hope  to  agree  touching  the  funda- 
mental principles  upon  which  it  rests.  To  treat 
adequately  of  the  contents  of  Christian  worship 
would  be  to  explore  the  history  of  liturgies  and  to 
trace  to  the  germ  that  extraordinary  evolution,  which 
has  reached  in  our  time  a  diversity  extending  from 
the  stately  cathedral  use  of  the  Greek,  the  Roman, 
and  the  Anglican  orders,  to  the  bold  simplicity 
of  the  camp-meeting  and  the  reverential  liberty  of 
the  Plymouth  Brothers.  Such  a  resume  is,  on  the 
present  occasion,  impracticable.     Nor  is  it  neces- 

l  Heb.  X.  19-25. 


10  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

sary.  For,  overlooking  the  historic  divergences  of 
liturgical  order,  each  one  of  which  involves  a 
chronicle  of  human  aspiration  (not  to  say  of  human 
suffering),  we  may  repair  directly  to  the  Apostolic 
Scriptures,  there  to  find,  sketched  in  broad  and 
free-hand  outlines,  not  only  the  institution  of  Chris- 
tian worship,  but  its  essential  contents.  And  what 
are  these  ?  It  being  granted  that  the  Apostolic 
writings  exalt  public  worship  as  a  primary  and  per- 
petual function  of  the  Catholic  Church,  witnessing 
on  earth  amidst  coming  and  departing  generations  to 
Him  who  is  ascended  up  on  high  until  He  come  a 
second  time,  are  there  to  be  found,  in  these  Apostolic 
writings,  intimations  of  the  fundamental  elements 
of  common  worship  sufficiently  distinct  to  constitute 
what  may  be  called  a  Catholic  use  for  the  body  of 
Christ,  thus  providing  a  unity  of  devotion  beneath 
the  lamentable  controversies  and  confusion  of  Eccle- 
siastical History  ?  The  question  is  intensely  inter- 
esting; to  the  lover  of  Catholic  Unity  it  is  deeply 
reassuring;  for  he  sees  that  amidst  the  doctrinal 
divisions  and  the  governmental  conflicts  of  eighteen 
centuries,  and  beneath  the  almost  infinite  variations 
of  ritual,  there  has  been  maintained  throughout  the 
Christian  society,  presumably  by  the  intervention 
and  care  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  a  practically  universal 
adherence  to  those  elements  of  worship  which  form 
the  Apostolic  and  fundamental  contents  of  the  insti- 
tution. These  fundamental  elements  may  be  readily 
found    by  grouping   the  Apostolic  writings   which 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP         11 

bear  upon  the  office  of  worship.  Not  now  may  we 
pause  to  cite  the  passages  on  which  we  base  these 
remarks.  And  it  may  be  assumed  that  these  cita- 
tions are  unnecessary  in  the  presence  of  a  body  of 
New  Testament  students.  The  fundamental  ele- 
ments of  public  Christian  worship  will  be  found 
enumerated  in  the  pages  of  him  on  whose  great  heart 
came  the  care  of  all  the  churches  daily.  And, 
strangely  enough,  those  elements  are  seven  in 
number,  —  as  it  were  a  sevenfold  gift  from  the  Spirit 
to  instruct  the  Church  how  to  maintain  through  the 
ages  of  the  Lord's  absence  the  vital  institution  of  a 
serious,  suitable,  and  spiritual  worship.  The  seven 
elements  are  these :  The  Hymn,  the  Scripture,  the 
Belief,  the  Prayer,  the  Oblation,  the  Teaching,  the 
Sacraments. 

1.  The  Hymn.  Devout  music  is  an  eternal 
integer  of  the  common  worship,  in  heaven  and  on 
earth.  They  who  believe  in  the  redemption  must 
sing.  If  these  should  hold  their  peace,  the  stones 
would  immediately  cry  out.  As  soon  bid  the  waves 
of  ocean  to  break  silently  upon  their  coasts  as  think 
to  hush  the  song,  like  the  sound  of  many  waters, 
from  those  who  know  that  their  Redeemer  liveth, 
and  that  He  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the 
earth.  Music  may  be  misused  in  Christian  worship; 
it  cannot  be  abolished.  It  is  inseparable  from  the 
new  creation,  as  it  was  from  the  first  creation  when 
the  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of 
God  shouted  for  joy. 


^X  ..'V 


12  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

2.  The  Scripture.  The  reading  of  the  Holy 
Oracles  is  an  indefeasible  part  of  Christian  worship. 
Christ  reading  in  the  synagogue  the  prophetic  wit- 
ness concerning  Himself,  while  the  eyes  of  all  were 
fastened  on  Him,  and  men  marvelled  at  the  gracious 
words,  exalts  the  Scripture  to  its  supreme  office  as 
a  vehicle  of  the  Spirit's  power  in  testimony  to  the 
eternal  Son.  At  this  time,  when  attention  is  so 
continuously  and  so  properly  called  to  the  Bible  as 
a  field  for  devout  research  and  criticism,  it  is  well, 
perhaps  peculiarly  well,  also  to  affirm  the  use  of 
Holy  Scripture  as  an  instrument  of  worship.  To 
those  to  whom  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  is 
an  unquestioned  reality,  the  solemn  reading  of  the 
Word  in  the  Christian  assembly  is  as  truly  an  act  of 
worship  as  it  was  in  that  impressive  day  of  which  we 
read  in  the  Book  of  Nehemiah,  when  "  Ezra  opened 
the  book  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people;  .  .  .  and 
when  he  opened  it,  all  the  people  stood  up:  and 
Ezra  blessed  the  Lord,  the  great  God.  And  all  the 
people  answered.  Amen,  Amen,  with  the  lifting  up 
of  their  hands:  and  they  bowed  their  heads,  and 
worshipped  the  Lord  with  their  faces  to  the 
ground. "  ^ 

3.  The  Belief.  The  most  ancient  of  the  Catholic 
creeds  is  a  growth  whose  roots  are  in  the  Apostolic 
Age.  The  Belief,  the  Creed,  the  Confession  with 
the  mouth,  is  a  fundamental  element  of  Christian 
worship.      The  word  of  man  should  be  the  echo  of 

1  Neh.  viii.  5,  6, 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP         13 

the  Word  of  God.  The  heart  of  man  should  reply  to 
the  outpourings  of  the  heart  of  God.  Confession  of 
faith  should  ascend  in  answer  to  revelation  of  truth, 
as  the  blades  of  harvest  rise  and  expand  beneath  the 
quickening  floods  of  sunshine.  So  also  the  creed  is 
for  testimony.  "  God  gave  us  not  a  spirit  of  fearful- 
ness,  but  of  power  and  love  and  discipline; "  and  the 
spoken  belief,  sounding  forth  with  joy  and  power  in 
the  Christian  assembly,  is  the  historic  continuance 
of  that  objective  witness-bearing  which  marked  the 
pioneers  of  Christianity,  and  which  recruited  the 
noble  army  of  martyrs.  Strange  that  the  use  of  a 
Catholic  creed  in  public  worship  should  have  been 
discontinued  in  any  part  of  the  Church,  to  be  sup- 
planted by  inferior  and  ephemeral  incidents  of  local 
custom.  Strange  that  the  speaking  forth  of  the 
belief  should  ever  be  intermitted.  May  it  be 
renewed  and  exalted  in  all  our  churches!  Belief 
and  speech  are  mysteriously  interdependent.  "I 
believed,  therefore  have  I  spoken,"  is  more  than  a 
casual  association  of  ideas.  To  believe  without 
speaking  is  to  imperil  the  faith.  A  silent  church 
might  soon  become  a  skeptical  church. 

4.  The  Pra.yer.  The  place  of  prayer  in  Chris- 
tian worship,  while  gaining  the  New  Testament 
liberty  and  love,  has  lost  none  of  the  Old  Testament 
glory  and  splendor.  The  Christian  presbyter,  stand- 
ing or  kneeling  in  the  assembly  of  believers,  and 
leading  them  in  humble,  lowly,  penitent,  and 
obedient    approach  to  the  throne  of  the  heavenly 


14  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

grace,  occupies  a  station  great  as  that  of  Israel's 
priestly  king,  interceding  in  the  cloud-filled  temple. 
If  ministerial  unspirituality  and  popular  indifference 
have  at  certain  melancholy  periods  of  decadence 
co-operated  to  reduce  the  office  of  public  prayer  to 
thin  and  threadbare  routine,  such  catastrophes  but 
emphasize,  through  the  force  of  a  tragic  contrast, 
the  Apostolic  conception  of  this  most  august  func- 
tion. The  mind  of  the  Spirit,  as  reflected,  for 
example,  in  the  Pauline  consciousness,  makes  prayer 
the  true  altar  of  incense  in  the  Christian  ecclesia. 
There  shall  be  presented  the  fragrant  gifts  of  adora- 
tion, the  incomparable  blend  of  homage,  faith,  peni- 
tence, and  thanksgiving.  And  there  shall  all  the 
contents  of  the  social  order,  and  of  the  personal  life, 
be  daily  consecrated  in  the  mystery  of  intercession. 
"I  exhort  therefore,  first  of  all,  that  supplications, 
prayers,  intercessions,  thanksgivings,  be  made  for 
all  men ;  for  kings  and  all  that  are  in  high  places ; 
that  we  may  lead  a  tranquil  and  quiet  life  in  all 
godliness  and  gravity.  This  is  good  and  acceptable 
in  the  sight  of  God  our  Saviour. '^  i 

5.  The  Oblation.  In  the  New  Testament  con- 
ception of  God  the  Father  and  God  the  Son  the  dis- 
tinctive attitude  of  the  Divine  consciousness  is 
represented  as  that  of  love  expressing  itself  through 
giving.  As  to  the  Father:  "He  that  spared  not 
His  own  Son,  but  delivered  Him  up  for  us  all,  how 
shall   He   not  with  Him  also    freely  give    us  all 

1  1  Tim.  ii.  1-3. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP  15 

things."  As  to  the  Son,  He  is  "the  Son  of  God 
who  loved  us  and  gave  Himself  up  for  us ;  who  for 
our  sakes  became  poor,  that  we  through  His  poverty 
might  become  rich."  In  perfect  correspondence 
with  this  view  of  God  is  the  direct  and  indirect 
teaching  of  the  Apostolic  writings  which  exalts  the 
consecration  of  wealth,  the  oblation  of  substance,  as 
an  organic  element  of  worship.  The  Divine  giving 
is,  in  the  Christian  scheme  of  worship,  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  human  giving.  "  Freely  ye  have  received, 
freely  give."  As  the  Eucharist  is  God's  sacrament 
for  man,  the  outward  and  visible  sign  of  the  Divine 
self-oblation,  so  the  cheerful  offering  of  wealth  on 
the  scale  of  absolute  ability  is  man's  sacrament  for 
God,  the  outward  and  visible  sign  of  a  self-oblation 
in  human  life  prompted  by  an  enlightened  sense  of 
the  evangelic  mercy. 

6.  The  Teaching.  Worship  is  contemplated  by 
the  Apostolic  mind  as  no  sporadic  or  temporary 
factor  in  the  life  of  the  Christian  Society,  but  rather 
as  the  perennial  harvest  of  faith  and  love  ripening 
wherever  the  good  seed  of  the  Word  is  truly  sown. 
But  worship  is  ever  regarded  in  the  New  Testament 
as  an  eifect  of  knowledge,  not  as  the  tribute  of 
ignorance  and  superstition.  Thus  said  Christ  to  the 
woman  of  Samaria,  "  Ye  worship  that  which  ye  know 
not,  we  worship  that  which  we  know."  Hence  the 
continuity  of  worship  is  maintained,  and  the  normal 
level  of  worship  is  preserved  by  incorporating  "the 
teaching"  as  a  constant  element.     Worship  is  the 


16  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

expression  of  faith,  but  the  substance  of  faith  must 
forever  be  recruited  by  growth  of  knowledge,  else 
faith  fades  into  a  pallid  and  anaemic  superstition, 
and  worship  sinks  into  the  routine  of  materialism. 
In  the  economy  of  the  Spirit,  faith  cometh  by  hearing, 
and  hearing  by  the  Word  of  God.  And  how  shall 
they  hear  without  a  preacher  ?  Hence  in  the  new 
priesthood  of  believers  teaching  is  above  sacrifice, 
and  the  right  dividing  of  the  Word  is  more  vital  than 
the  first-fruits  of  flock  and  field.  Here,  then,  is  the 
coronation  of  preaching  as  a  means  of  grace. 
Through  it  is  to  come  that  perpetual  increment  of 
knowledge  which  is  fuel  for  the  altar-fire  of  intelli- 
gent worship.  So  the  passion  of  the  Apostle's  heart 
was  that  his  preaching  might  be  a  veritable  teach- 
ing: "In  the  church  I  had  rather  speak  five  words 
with  my  understanding,  that  by  my  voice  I  might 
teach  others  also,  than  ten  thousand  words  in  an 
unknown  tongue." 

7.  The  Sacraments.  If  the  teaching  element  in 
Christian  worship  may  be  described  as  that  through 
which  the  reason  and  the  conscience  are  enlisted  in 
the  approach  to  God,  the  sacramental  element  in  wor- 
ship is  that  through  which,  pre-eminently,  an  appeal 
is  made  to  the  imagination,  to  the  memory,  and  to 
the  affections.  The  two  divinely  constituted  sacra- 
ments of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  are  pro- 
foundly imaginative  and  tenderly  emotional.  Holy 
Baptism,  the  sacrament  of  the  blessed  Comforter, 
Holy  Communion,  the  sacrament  of  the  suffering 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP  17 

Saviour,  contribute  to  Christian  worship  an  imagi- 
native aspect  and  an  emotional  potency  which  not 
only  perpetuate  but  nourish  and  stimulate  the  sense 
of  that  which  is  supernatural.  Chiefly  is  this 
realized  in  the  Eucharist,  because  of  its  recurrence 
in  our  experience.  The  thrilling  contrast  therein 
between  the  simplicity  of  the  material  substances 
employed  and  the  vastness  of  the  event  and  the 
personality  which  are  by  them  sacramentally 
delineated,  lays  hold  of  the  imagination,  enchains 
the  memory,  kindles  the  affections  with  a  sense  of 
Christ's  supra-naturalism,  opens  the  inner  life  for 
the  entrance  of  grace,  and  clothes  with  majestic 
realism  that  Apostolic  thought  of  the  witness  to  the 
infinite,  the  spiritual,  and  the  unseen,  accomplished 
by  sacramental  participation:  "For  as  often  as  ye 
eat  this  bread  and  drink  this  cup,  ye  proclaim  the 
Lord's  death  till  He  come." 

We  have  now  enumerated  the  seven  fundamental 
elements  of  Christian  worship,  notice  of  which 
appears  more  or  less  distinctly  in  the  Apostolic 
writings.  We  behold  a  rich  and  impressive  unity. 
No  element  is  redundant;  none  is  irrelevant;  each 
has  its  own  logical  and  spiritual  relation  to  the 
other;  each  contributes  a  specific  force  to  the  whole 
volume  of  energy.  All,  united,  blend  as  the  seven 
bands  of  the  rainbow,  in  one  radiant  symbol  of  hope, 
spanning  the  present  dispensation  from  the  Ascen- 
sion to  the  Second  Advent,   and  revealing   the  ex- 


^5 
2 


18  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

istence  of  a  substantial  agreement  (not  to  say  an 
involuntary  agreement)  among  Christians,  histori- 
cally maintained  amidst  innumerable  sectional  varia- 
tions and  local  adaptations.  As  there  is  one  Lord, 
one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all, 
so  also  may  we  venture  to  say  there  is,  among  Chris- 
tians, in  the  last  analysis,  one  worship,  —  the 
Hymn,  the  Scripture,  the  Belief,  the  Prayer,  the 
Oblation,  the  Teaching,  the  Sacraments. 

The  thought  which  we  have  now  given  to  this 
branch  of  our  subject  has  prepared  the  way  for  a 
statement  of  those  broad  principles  which  constitute 
the  real  foundations  of  Christian  worship.  And 
it  is  hoped  that  this  statement  of  principle  may 
be  sufficiently  clear  to  be  of  practical  use  to  those 
whose  life-work  is  to  be  closely  connected  with  the 
great  institution  of  worship  now  under  review. 

He  who  attentively  regards  the  historic  phenom- 
ena of  Christian  worship  finds  a  priori  reasons  for 
believing  that  it  is  no  fortuitous  outcome  of  circum- 
stances, but  a  divinely  constituted  force,  operating 
in  accordance  with  principles  which  may  be  ascer- 
tained and  defined.  Whether  the  powerful  fact  of 
worship  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  its  permanence, 
as  abiding  continuously  through  the  politico-ecclesi- 
astical upheavals  of  many  centuries ;  or  in  the  light 
of  its  substantial  conformity  to  the  Apostolic  type, 
as  we  have  already  essayed  to  show ;  or  in  the  light 
of  its  ethical  effects  as  a  prodigious  contribution  to 
the  vigor  and  the  purity  of  civilization;  or  in  the 


PRINCIPLES   OF   CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP  19 

light  of  its  spiritual  power  as  tending  to  produce  in 
all  times  and  countries  qualities  of  human  character 
spiritual   in   proportion    to   the   spirituality   of   the 
worship,  —  from  every  point  of  view  the  attentive 
mind  finds  in  the  phenomena  of  worship  suggestions 
of  underlying   principles   fully   accounting  for  the 
perpetuity  and  the  immense  influence  of  the  institu- 
tion itself.     When  we  undertake  to  collect  and  to 
co-ordinate  these  principles  we  discover  that  they 
fall  into  two  classes  or  groups,  which  we  may  con- 
veniently describe  as  the  subjective  group  and  the 
Objective  Group.     The  term  "subjective  principles 
underlying  Christian  worship  "  is  intended  to  indi- 
cate  those  inward  and  constitutional   relationships 
with  the  life  of  God  and  the  life  of  man  which  are 
found  to  exist  in  the  concept  of  worship.     The  term 
"objective  principles  underlying  Christian  worship" 
is  intended  to  indicate  those  outward  uses  for  the 
Church,  and  for  society  at  large,  which  historically 
subsist  in  Christian  worship  normally  administered. 
Our  attention  is  now  given  to  the  subjective  group. 
The  concept  of  worship,    whether  regarded   in   its 
generic  sense,  as  involving  the  manifold  religions  of 
humanity,  or  in  its  specific  sense,  as  an  institution 
of  Christianity,  is  found  to  be  the  outcome  of  two 
interior  and  constitutional  ideas,  —  the  one  a  belief 
concerning  God ;  the  other  an  experience  concerning 
man.     The  belief  concerning  God  is  that  the  desire 
and  will  of  the  Divine  Mind  invite  and  enjoin  wor- 
ship on  the  part  of  created  intelligences.     The  expe- 


20  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

rience  concerning  man  is  that  worship  is  an  intuition 
of  self-consciousness.  As  our  Lord,  when  giving 
the  first  and  great  commandment,  and  the  second 
which  is  like  unto  it,  declared,  "  On  these  two  com- 
mandments hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets,"  so 
may  we  also  declare  with  confidence  concerning  the 
two  ideas  just  enumerated :  on  these  two  subjective 
principles,  the  Will  of  God,  the  intuition  of  man, 
rests,  fundamentally,  the  institution  of  Christian 
worship.  Consider  the  former,  the  Will  of  God. 
So  far  as  God  is  known  in  the  ethnic  faiths,  or  is 
revealed  in  the  Biblical  Scriptures,  He  is  known 
and  revealed  as  desiring  and  willing  the  worship  of 
created  intelligences.  If  in  the  ethnic  faiths  the 
conception  of  God  is  often  one  of  horror,  a  confused 
polytheism,  or  a  lurid  and  vindictive  monotheism, 
yet  is  the  idea  prevalent  and  even  universal,  that 
Deity  desires  and  wills  the  tribute  of  worship  to  be 
paid  by  the  mind  and  heart  of  humanity.  When, 
from  the  ethnic  faiths  that  lie  outside  of  Biblical 
revelation,  we  advance  to  the  religion  of  Israel,  the 
keynote  of  the  dispensation  is  the  desire  of  Jehovah 
to  receive  that  homage  from  the  created  intelligence 
which  it  is  competent  to  give.  This  surely  is  the 
substantial  basis  of  the  Divine  legation  of  Moses; 
this  the  meaning  of  that  most  extraordinary  code 
wherein  one  looks  in  vain  for  any  intimation  of 
immortality,  or  for  promise  even  of  a  future  life, 
and  finds,  instead,  a  complex  liturgical  order  for  the 
life  that  now  is.     In  the  Israelitish  code  God  is  self- 


PRINCIPLES  OF  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP  21 

revealed  as  desiring  and  demanding  worship  from 
created  intelligences.  Had  He  not  given  subse- 
quently, in  Christ,  a  larger  self-revelation  along  the 
same  line,  there  would  still  exist,  in  the  Hebraic 
Scriptures,  clear  and  conclusive  declaration  that 
worship  is  not  first  of  all  a  conception  of  man,  but 
first  of  all  an  ordinance  of  God.  But  Christ  gives 
us  infinitely  more  than  this.  Christ,  proclaiming 
Himself  to  be  the  revelation  of  the  Father,  and  not 
only  permitting  worship  to  be  addressed  to  Himself 
as  God,  but  explicitly  providing,  in  the  sacrament 
of  His  body  and  blood,  for  a  perpetual  homage, 
declared,  in  the  clearest  terms,  that  the  mind  of  God 
is  not  passive,  but  active,  in  its  relation  to  those 
offerings  of  the  intellect  and  of  the  affections  which 
man  is  competent  to  bring  to  Him.  "The  hour 
cometh,  and  now  is,  when  the  true  worshippers  shall 
worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth ;  for  such 
doth  the  Father  seek  to  be  His  worshippers.  God 
is  a  Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  Him  must  worship 
in  spirit  and  in  truth. "  ^  It  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  the  vitality  of  Christian  worship  is  commen- 
surate with  the  grasp  of  Christian  minds  upon  this 
subjective  principle,  that  God  wills,  desires,  com- 
mands the  approach  of  human  intelligences  to  Him- 
self. Let  there  be  in  minister  and  in  people  but  a 
languid  and  traditionary  assent  to  this  proposition, 
and  that  which  is  called  worship  subsides  to  the 
level   of  religious  routine;    but   let  presbyter  and 

1  Jno.  iv.  23-24, 


22  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

people  feel  that  the  will  of  the  Eternal  bespeaks 
their  coming  together,  that  the  Spirit  of  the  Eternal 
is  operating  on  their  human  spirits  to  produce  the 
emanation  of  worship  for  the  joy  of  Him  who  is 
invisibly  present  in  their  assembly,  and  worship 
becomes  transfused  with  extraordinary  and  soul- 
compelling  awe,  and  (to  adopt  the  very  striking 
language  of  Professor  Sohm  of  Leipsic,  employed  in 
another  connection)  ^  "the  aim  of  Divine  worship 
and  its  crowning  glory  is  that  feeling  of  the  imme- 
diate omnipresence  of  the  Divine  Man  which  con- 
strains the  congregation  to  bow  down  in  adoration." 

The  second  and  complementary  subjective  principle 
of  Christian  Worship  is  the  intuition  of  man.  It  is 
complementary  as  seen  in  relation  to  the  Will  of 
God.  God  desires  worship,  and  man,  made  in  His 
image  and  for  Himself,  discovers  in  his  own  self- 
consciousness  the  intuitional  impulse  of  worship. 
In  the  presence  of  voluminous  evidence  supplied 
from  the  history  of  religions,  it  is  wholly  unneces- 
sary to  consume  time  in  pointing  out  the  universality 
of  that  impulse  which  prompts  man  to  the  worship 
of  Omnipotence. 

The  correspondence  between  the  human  intuition 
and  the  revelation  of  the  Divine  Will  is  too  complete 
to  be  overlooked  or  to  be  explained  awa}^  The  con- 
clusion is  psychologically  necessary:  Man  is  consti- 
tuted a  worshipping  creature,  and  approximates  to 
an  absolutely  normal  state  as  his  worship  advances 

1  Outlines  of  Church  History,  p.  122. 


PRINCIPLES  OF   CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP  23 

toward  ideal  spiritual  completeness.     The  evidence 
of  this  appears  in  the  effects  of  worship  on  character. 
He  who  knows  the  act  of  true  worship,   who  has 
experience  of  what  it  is  to  gaze  upon  God  with  eyes 
of  faith  and  holy  fear,  to  pour  out  the  soul  toward 
God  not  only  in  petition  and  pleading,  but  in  the 
contemplation  of  Himself,  to  say  "Holy,  Holy,  Holy, 
Lord  God  Almighty,    which  was   and   is  and  is  to 
come,"  he  knows  that  worship  mysteriously  affects 
life.     There   is   an   intense  incompleteness  in  him 
who  knows  not  the  meaning  of  worship.     There  is  a 
lack  of  depth  and  of  dignity  in  him  who  will  not 
look    upon    God.     His    life    seems    curtailed    and 
crippled.     We    give   him    credit    for  keenness,    or 
talent,  or  courage,  or  maturity  of  mind,  or  whatever 
else  he  may  possess,   but  we  miss  in  him  a  certain 
glory  which  can  be  given  only  in  one  way,   by  the 
light  of  God's  countenance.     Pie  is  like  a  fruit  that 
has  ripened  in  the  dark  and  not  in  the  sunshine. 
We  see  not  in  him  the  reflection  of  God's  face,  for 
he   has  not   lived  looking   on  God's  face.     He  has 
been  intensely  interested  in  earthly  things;  he  has 
prayed  hard  and  worked  hard  for  success;  he  has 
studied  himself;  he  has  not  studied  God;  he  has  not 
worshipped  God.     The  decline  of  worship  means  the 
withering   of   man's   spirit.     If  we  no   longer  have 
that  mystic  blending  of  our  spirit  with  God's  Spirit, 
we  lose  the  mysterious  resultants  of  worship   from 
our  own  life.     The  presence  of  the  intuition  of  wor- 
ship in  man's  organism  is  accounted  for  in  the  fact 


24  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

that  worship  is  the  true  foundation  of  character  and 
channel  of  power.  "The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the 
beginning  of  wisdom."  God  is  the  ideal.  To  ignore 
the  ideal  is  to  throw  away  the  standard  of  character, 
and  to  leave  only  the  conventional  notions  of  moral- 
ity. To  worship  is  to  think  of  God,  to  fasten  the  eyes 
upon  Him  until  the  heart  is  filled  with  the  splendid 
vision  as  with  the  influx  of  the  tide.  The  mystery 
of  worship  is  that  this  contemplation  of  God  founds 
and  forms  character.  While  the  man  is  thinking  of 
God,  God  is  moulding  him;  and  thus,  with  unveiled 
face,  reflecting  as  a  mirror  the  glory  of  the  Lord, 
one  is  changed  into  the  same  image,  as  by  the  Lord, 
the  Spirit.  So  also  worship  is  the  channel  of 
power.  Whence  comes  spiritual  power  ?  Whence 
come  the  courage  of  faith,  the  patience  of  hope,  the 
gift  of  ministry  ?  Whence  are  born  those  splendid 
abilities  to  help  other  souls  in  their  distresses  and 
humiliations  ?  Spiritual  power  comes  not  through 
the  study  of  self,  albeit  the  study  of  self  is  an  indis- 
pensable part  of  the  Christian  discipline.  Spiritual 
power  comes  through  the  contemplation  of  God, 
which  is  worship.  "  They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord 
shall  renew  their  strength ;  they  shall  mount  up  with 
wings. "  This  is  the  mystery  of  worship,  —  that  when 
we  forget  ourselves  in  God,  we  receive  most  into 
ourselves ;  when  we  lose  our  lives  in  Him,  we  find 
them.  When  we  break  away  from  our  own  petty 
scale  of  thinking,  cast  from  about  us  our  network  of 
worries  and  disputings,  throw  away  even  our  knotted 


PRINCIPLES  OF   CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP  25 

scourge  of  self-flagellation,  and  go  out  to  look  upon 
the  wideness  of  God ;  when  we  cease  from  our  small 
devices  for  self-improvement  and  our  hair-splitting 
self-analysis,  and  cast  ourselves  down  beneath  the 
shining  of  God  in  His  strength,  as  on  some  high  fore- 
land by  the  sea,  beneath  the  blessed  midday  sun,  — 

"To  lie  within  the  light  of  God, 
Like  a  babe  upon  the  breast, 
Where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling 
And  the  weary  are  at  rest,"  — 

that  is  worship,  and  that  is  the  channel  of  power. 
Our  feebleness  is  swallowed  in  His  strength;  our 
fears  are  swept  away  by  the  torrent  of  His  love. 
Our  dwarfish  notions  are  lost  in  the  measure  of  the 
stature  of  the  manhood  of  Christ; 

"■  God's  greatness  flows  around  our  incompleteness, 
And  round  our  restlessness,  His  Rest." 

Having  now  noted  what  appear  to  be  the  two  sub- 
jective principles  conditioning  the  institution  of 
Christian  worship,  namely,  the  will  of  God  and  the 
intuition  of  man,  we  advance  to  the  final  division  of 
this  lecture,  and  proceed  rapidly  to  enumerate  some 
of  those  objective  principles  which  include  the  out- 
ward uses,  for  the  Church  and  for  society  at  large, 
which  historically  subsist  in  Christian  worship, 
normally  administered. 

When  we  advance  to  this  part  of  our  subject,  the 
territory  presented  to  thought  is  so  broad,  we  see  at 
a  glance   the   impossibility  of   making  a  complete 


26  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

statement  of  the  objective  principles  of  Christian 
worship.  Our  method  of  treatment  must  be  elective 
rather  than  comprehensive,  suggestive  rather  than 
exhaustive.  Brief  and  concentrated  references  to 
three  of  the  objective  uses  of  worship  may  at  least 
indicate  the  line  to  be  pursued  by  the  student  in 
search  of  thorough  knowledge  of  this  great  subject. 

Christian  worship,  considered  objectively,  that  is 
to  say,  not  in  respect  of  esoteric  relations  between 
man  and  God,  but  in  respect  of  outward  nses  for 
the  Church  and  for  the  community  at  large,  is  seen 
as  ideally  subserving  the  following,  among  other  uses, 
and  these  several  uses  are  to  be  regarded  as  principles 
underlying  the  institution:  the  affirmative  use;  the 
conservative  use ;  the  educative  use. 

The  affirmative  use  contemplates  Christian  wor- 
ship as  testimony,  comprehending  the  evangelical 
facts  and  uttering  the  same  continuously  and  effect- 
ively, as  a  propagandism  of  spiritual  light  and 
hope,  throughout  a  world  lying  in  the  Evil  One. 
The  glory  of  Christianity  is  its  undebatable  affirma- 
tion, whether  men  will  hear  or  will  forbear;  whether 
men  consent  or  protest,  allow  or  forbid,  —  an  unde- 
batable affirmation,  sounding  in  the  generations, 
irrepressible,  unsilenceable.  Such  is  the  method  of 
Jesus.  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  preach,  proclaim 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  The  Gospel:  What 
is  that  ?  Not  a  cautious  scholastic  argument,  but 
an  invulnerable  assumption;  still  invulnerable, 
though  sought  out  by  sheaves   of  arrows  from  the 


PRINCIPLES   OF  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP  27 

bow  of  philosophic  doubt.  Christianity,  in  its 
relation  to  the  world,  is  an  affirmation,  not  a 
polemic,  —  a  voice  that  cannot  be  hushed.  It  may  be 
prohibited;  it  speaks  above  the  prohibition.  The 
ban  of  the  State  cannot  stop  it;  the  walls  of  the 
prison  house  cannot  confine  it;  the  clods  of  the 
grave  cannot  smother  it.  Most  heroical  and  most 
suggestive  is  that  sequence  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  recorded  without  comment  by  the  narrator, 
as  being  the  natural  order.  The  injunction  from 
the  council :  "  They  commanded  that  they  should  not 
speak  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  let  them  go ; "  the 
action  of  the  Apostles  under  that  injunction,  "And 
they  departed  from  the  presence  of  the  council,  and 
daily  in  the  temple  and  in  every  house  they  ceased 
not  to  teach  and  preach  Jesus  Christ,"  —  theundebat- 
able,  irrepressible  affirmation!  Christian  worship 
is  the  perennial  continuance  of  this  affirmation. 
Every  place  of  sacred  assembly,  from  the  buttressed 
cathedral,  sumptuous  with  the  spoils  of  time,  to  the 
frail  and  austere  chapel  of  some  out-station  on  the 
plains ;  every  hymn  sent  upward  to  God  by  the  rescued 
wanderers  of  the  street,  or  by  the  snowy  multitude 
of  stoled  priests  and  vested  choristers  massed  before 
the  shadowy  splendors  of  the  shrine,  like  Dante's 
white  rose  of  Paradise;  every  eucharistic  board, 
sweet  with  fair  linen,  august  with  elemental  bread 
and  wine,  is  worship  in  its  affirmative  use,  proclaim- 
ing alike  to  the  stolid  ears  of  ignorance,  to  the 
sinister  mind  of  unbelief,  to  the  prostrate  helpless- 


28  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

ness  of  despair,  to  the  hallowed  anguish  of   peni- 
tence,  "the  Lord's  Death  till  He  come." 

The  conservative  use  of  Christian  worship  is  dis- 
cerned most  impressively  in  the  solemn  light  of 
history.  Amidst  vanishing  empires  and  dissolving 
philosophies ;  amidst  the  incessant  harvests  of  Death, 
gathering  from  the  scene  Apostolic  and  post-Apostolic 
defenders  of  the  faith;  amidst  the  relentless  attacks 
in  every  age  of  that  carnal  mind  which  is  enmity 
against  God ;  amidst  internal  dissensions  of  the 
Church  and  partisan  over-statements  of  truths  which 
were  thereby  compromised  through  those  who  fiercely 
thought  to  do  God  service,  —  worship  has  been  the 
great  conservative  of  faith.  It  is  more  than  fifty 
years  since  the  brilliant  and  sympathetic  man, 
Cleveland  Cox,  who  as  Bishop  of  Western  New  York 
has  just  departed  to  his  rest,  wrote  words  that 
perfectly  express  the  conservative  use  of  worship. 

"  Oh,  where  are  kiugs  and  empires  now 
Of  old  that  went  and  came  ? 
But,  Lord,  Thy  Church  is  praying  yet, 
A  thousand  years  the  same. 

"We  mark  her  goodly  battlements 

And  her  foundations  strong  ; 
We  hear  within  the  solemn  voice 

Of  her  unending  song." 

It  is  through  the  "  unending  song  "  of  a  worship- 
ping Church  that  the  faith  of  Christ  has  been  con- 
served upon  the  earth,  rather  than  through  the 
involved  confessional  creations  that  lie  dormant  in 


PRINCIPLES  OF   CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP  29 

theological  literature.     They  indeed  bore  their  part, 
and  out  of  them  came  many  a  glorious  strophe  and 
stanza  for  the  Church's  song:  but  the  worship  of  the 
Church,  far  more  than  its  scholasticism,  has  safe- 
guarded, through  warring  centuries,  the  faith  once 
for  all  delivered  to  the  saints.     The  Apostles'  Creed, 
the  Gloria  Fatri,  the  Gloria  in  Uxcelsis,  the  Te  Deum, 
the  Nicene  Creed,  the  Words  of  Institution  at  the 
Lord's   Supper,    have   kept  the    Catholic   faith  un- 
spotted from  the  world,  unwarped  by  the  Church. 
The    educative    use     of    Christian    worship,    its 
reflexive  influence   on  persons,    on   households,    on 
schools,  and  on  communities,  makes  worship  a  part 
of  sociology.     The  religious  nature  must  be  reckoned 
with  in  all  attempts  to  reconstitute  the  dignity  of  a 
fallen  community,    or  to  develop  the  powers  of  an 
inchoate  life.     Man  is  not  normal  until  he  worships. 
Upon  the   director   of  worship   lies,    therefore,   the  * 
burden  of  an  educator.     To  him  much  has  been  com- 1 
mitted,   and   of  him  shall  men,   without  injustice, ' 
require  much.     They  have  a  right  to  the  best,  to  the 
noblest  forms  of  worship;  to  the  most  devout,  the  \ 
most  studious,  the  most  solicitous,  the  most  reveren-  ^ 
tial   fulfilment   of   all   the  contents  of  that  sacred 
institution  founded  upon  the  will  of  God,  demanded 
by  the  intuitions  of  human  consciousness.     Worship 
is  an  education,  the  leader  of  worship  a  teacher  of 
men.     It  is  his  so  to  serve  with  clean  hands  at  the 
altar  of  God,  so  to  live  in  all  godliness  and  gravity, 
so  to  stand  surrendered  to  the  power  of  the  Paraclete, 


30  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

that  the  eternal  verities  of  worship  shall  become  to 
many  lives  a  revelation  of  truth,  a  voice  from  the 
unseen,  a  theophany  of  the  Spirit,  sublimating 
thought,  moulding  character,  strengthening  with 
might  the  wings  of  the  soul's  aspiration. 


II 

PRIMITIVE  CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES 

By  the  Rev.  ALEXANDER  V.  G.  ALLEN,  D.D., 

Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Theological  School  in  Cambridge,  Mass. 


PRIMITIVE  CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES 

I  PROPOSE  in  this  lecture  to  discuss  the  litur- 
gical motives  which  influenced  the  development 
of  worship  in  the  ancient  Church,  and  were  finally 
embodied  in  liturgies.^  The  impulse  to  liturgical 
development  was  Oriental  in  its  origin.  It  is  a 
familiar  generalization  that  in  the  development  of 
the  ancient  Church  Greece  contributed  the  intellec- 

1  List  of  some  of  the  More  Important  Works  on  Ancient 
Christian  Worship.  —  The  larger  collections  of  Assemanni,  Ren- 
audot,  Daniel,  and  Muratori.  The  Liturgies  in  the  2d,  7th,  and  8th 
books  of  the  Apostolic  Constitutions.  Cyril's  Mystagogic  Catechisms. 
Biugham's  Christian  Antiquities,  B.  XIV.  c.  5,  B.  XVI.  Dionysius  the 
Areopagite  in  Migne,  Patrol.  Gr.  ii.  Swainson,  C.  A.,  The  Greek 
Liturgies,  chiefly  from  Original  Authorities,  1884.  Brightman,  F.  E., 
Liturgies,  Eastern  and  Western,  being  the  Texts,  original  or  translated^ 
of  the  Principal  Liturgies  of  the  Church,  vol.  i.  1896.  Palmer,  W., 
Origines  Liturgicce.  Bunsen,  Chevalier,  Christianity  and  Mankind,  and 
Analecta  Ante-Niccena.  Smith  and  Cheetham,  Dictionary  of  Christian 
Antiquities  ;  articles  on  LITURGIES  AND  LITURGICAL 
BOOKS.  Neale,  J.  M.,  Introduction  to  the  History  of  the  Holy  Eastern 
Church ;  also  Essays  on  Liturgiology  and  Church  History.  Stanley, 
The  Eucharistic  Sacrifice  in  "  Christian  Institutions,"  1881.  Freeman, 
Principles  of  Divine  Service.  Probst,  Liturgie  der  drei  ersten  christ- 
lichen  Jahrhunderten,  1870.  Mone,  Lateinische  und  griechische  Messen 
axis  dem  zweiten  his  sechsten  Jahrhundert.  Gottschick,  Der  Sontags- 
gottesdienst  der  Christl.  Kirche,  1885.  Kortlin,  Geschich.  d.  Christl. 
Gottesdienstes,  1887.  Duchesne,  Origines  du  culte  Chretien,  Mtude  sur 
la  Liturgie  Latine  avant  Charlemagne,  1889. 

3 


34  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

tiial  formulas  of  doctrine,  and  Rome  her  genius  for 
law  and  government  and  administration.  To  this 
may  be  added  that  Oriental  countries  contributed 
the  tendencies  which  to  some  extent  influenced  the 
aspect  of  worship.  And  by  Oriental  countries  are 
meant  Egypt,  parts  of  Asia  Minor,  and  Eastern 
Syria,  where,  although  the  influence  of  Greek  culture 
had  been  felt,  there  were  characteristics  of  tempera- 
ment, religious  traditions,  a  certain  conception  of 
man  in  his  relation  to  nature,  and  theosophical  tend- 
encies also,  which  were  never  entirely  overcome  by 
Greek  influence,  and  which  finally  left  their  mark 
on  Christian  worship.  The  time  of  liturgical  prepa- 
ration may  be  said  to  date  from  the  age  of  Constan- 
tino, and  to  include  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries. 
During  this  period  we  may  trace  the  origin  and 
development  of  most  of  those  principles  which  were 
afterward  embodied  in  the  cultus.  The  liturgies 
themselves  did  not  assume  their  final  shape,  as  we 
know  them  to-day,  until  a  much  later  time.  There 
are  no  manuscripts  of  liturgies  which  date  earlier 
than  the  eighth  or  ninth  centuries.  The  liturgy  of 
Constantinople,  called  after  Basil  and  Chrysostom, 
was  not  then  in  existence,  nor  was  the  Roman  Mass. 
The  sources  for  our  knowledge  of  the  worship  of  the 
fourth  and  fifth  centuries  are  to  be  found  in  a  so- 
called  liturgy,  which  is  contained  in  the  eighth  book  \ 
of  the  Apostolic  Constitutions.  The  exact  date  is  \ 
uncertain,  but  I  will  assume  that  it  was  put  forth 
about  the  year  340.     The  reason  for  this  assumption 


PRIMITIVE  CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  35 

is  a  certain  tinge  of  Semi-Arianism  which  is  to  be 
detected  in  it,  a  theology  which  was  then  in  vogue, 
whose  influence  may  be  said  to  have  cuhninated  at 
the  Council  of  Antioch  in  the  year  340  or  341. 
This  so-called  liturgy  is  commonly  known  as  the 
ClementmCj  and  as  this  is  a  convenient  designation, 
I  shall  refer  to  it  by  this  name  in  the  frequent  allu- 
sions which  will  be  made  to  it.  It  was  never  used 
as  a  liturgy,  nor  was  it  intended  that  it  should  be; 
it  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  private  compilation,  con- 
taining formulas  of  prayer  which  were  never  adopted 
into  general  use.  But  it  also  contains  ritual  direc- 
tions which  were  adopted,  and  therefore  serves  in 
many  respects  as  a  model  and  type  of  the  later  East- 
ern liturgies.  Other  important  sources  for  our 
knowledge  of  the  worship  in  the  fourth  and  fifth 
centuries  are  the  Lectures  on  the  Mysteries  by  Cyril 
of  Jerusalem,  who  lived  about  the  time  of  the  Second 
General  Council,  in  380 ;  the  many  allusions  to  the 
ritual,  and  comments  on  its  significance,  by  Chrysos- 
tom,  bishop  of  Antioch,  and  afterwards  patriarch  of 
Constantinople;  and  lastly,  the  order  of  worship 
given  by  the  so-called  Dionysius  the  Areppagite,  who 
lived  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fifth  century. 

The  development  of  liturgical  principles  was  con-i 
temporaneous  with  an  age  of  doctrinal  activity  and 
controversy,  with  which  are  connected  the  names  of 
ApoUinaris  and  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  Nestorius  and 
Eutyches.  When  the  Church  grew  weary  of  the  in- 
cessant discussion,  and  losing  its  faith  in  the  reason 


36  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

fell  back  upon  tradition  as  the  highest  authority, 
ritual  came  to  the  front,  as  if  a  refuge  from  the 
distractions  of  controversy,  as  if  the  instincts  of  the 
heart  might  be  trusted,  when  the  Christian  intellect 
seemed  to  have  lost  itself  in  a  labyrinthine  maze  of 
contradiction  and  confusion. 

In  order  to  measure  the  ritual  advance  of  the 
fourth  and  fifth  centuries,  we  must  keep  in  view  the 
worship  of  the  Church  in  an  earlier  age,  our  knowl- 
edge of  which  depends  upon  a  few  brief  but  precious 
fragments  There  is  an  account  of  the  worship  at 
the  close  of  the  Apostolic  age,  or  about  the  beginning 
of  the  second  century,  which  is  given  in  the  Didache. 
Another  account  is  contained  in  the  letter  of  the 
Roman  governor,  Pliny,  to  the  Emperor  Trajan, 
which  belongs  to  the  earlier  years  of  the  second  cen- 
tury. Justin  Martyr  is  our  next  authority,  whose 
time  is  about  the  middle  of  the  second  century. 
Nearly  tv^o  centuries  intervene  between  Justin 
Martyr  and  the  time  of  the  Clementine  liturgy,  in 
which  we  are  dependent  upon  allusions  in  various 
writers,  but  in  which  as  a  whole  the  ritual  of  the 
Church  is  like  an  underground  stream,  collecting  its 
waters  from  sources  which  have  not  yet  been  fully 
traced,  till  at  last  it  emerges  a  river,  which  no 
authority  of  council  or  hierarchy  can  control,  which 
defies  tradition  and  makes  its  channel  at  its  will  and 
pleasure.  We  seem  to  pass  abruptly,  and  as  if  with- 
out preparation,  from  the  simple  eucharistic  service 
as  described  by  Justin,  to  the  highly  complex  and 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  37 

elaborate  worship,  the  stately  ceremonial  of  the  age 
of  Constantine. 

The  word  "  liturgy  "  has  undergone  many  changes. 
According  to  its  etymological  use  and  its  earlier 
application,  it  meant  a  public  service  or  function, 
and  the  name  Leitourgos  was  sometimes  given  to 
the  deacon  as  indicating  his  peculiar  work.  In  its 
widest  use,  when  applied  to  the  worship,  the  liturgy 
included  a  public  service,  consisting  of  prayer,  the 
reading  of  Scripture,  and  preaching.  This  may  be 
called  a  homiletic  service,  whose  aim  was  moral  and 
spiritual  edification.  All  classes  of  Christians 
were  allowed  to  be  present,  —  the  catechumens,  the 
penitents,  and  also  the  outside  world  of  heathens 
and  unbelievers.  This  service  was  given  in  the 
morning  hours.  There  was  also  from  the  first  an 
interior  service  for  the  faithful,  in  which  was 
administered  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  from  which  the 
public  were  excluded,  as  were  also  the  penitents  and 
catechumens.  Ritual  advance  or  development  con- 
sisted in  expanding  the  ceremony  of  the  Eucharist, 
and  enhancing  its  importance,  till  finally,  some- 
where after  the  fifth  century,  the  homiletic  worship 
ceased  in  the  churches,  the  Eucharist  was  thrown 
open  to  the  whole  congregation,  the  communion  of 
the  Lord's  Supper  was  practically  discontinued,  and 
the  people  were  content  to  witness  the  impressive 
dramatization  of  the  passion  of  Christ. 

The  earlier  homiletic  service  now  took  refuge  in 
the  monasteries,  where  its  development  continued 


38  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

till  it  issued  in  what  is  known  in  the  Latin  Church 
as  the  Breviary,  which,  however  intricate  it  became, 
still  retained  its  original  character  as  a  service  of 
prayer  and  song,  readings  from  the  Scripture,  and 
the  word  of  exhortation.  At  the  Reformation  it 
was  reduced  into  the  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer 
of  the  English  Church. 

It  is  then  with  the  development  of  the  worship 
which  is  connected  with  the  Lord's  Supper  that  we 
are  now  chiefly  concerned.  The  office  of  the  Eucha- 
rist becomes  the  liturgy,  —  the  only  application 
which  the  term  noAv  has  in  the  Greek  and  Latin 
churches.  There  is  among  us  a  popular  use  of  the 
word  "liturgy"  to  which  I  may  refer  in  passing, 
which  places  a  liturgical  service  in  contrast  with 
those  forms  of  worship  where  the  ministrant  offers 
extemporaneous  prayers.  But  this  distinction  was 
not  made  in  the  ancient  Church.  Li  the  account  of 
the  worship  found  in  the  Didache,  while  formulas  of 
prayer  are  given  for  those  who  may  need  them,  it  is 
also  enjoined  that  the  prophets  are  to  be  permitted 
"to  give  thanks  as  much  as  they  will."  Li  the 
liturgy  of  Justin  Martyr  no  forms  of  prayer  are 
mentioned,  but  the  president  of  the  congregation  is 
said  to  pray  at  considerable  length,  and  according  to 
his  ability.  Even  in  the  Clementine  liturgy,  while 
some  forms  of  prayer  are  given  in  full,  in  other  cases 
only  directions  are  given  as  to  the  nature  or  contents 
of  the  prayer  to  be  offered.  According  to  Chrysos- 
torn  of  Antioch,  there  were  three  usages  in  prayer. 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  39 

There  were  certain  formulas  pronounced  by  the 
officiant  alone;  there  was  the  Litany,  where  the 
priest  or  deacon  read  the  petitions  and  the  people 
responded  with  Kyrie  Meison ;  and  thirdly,  there 
was  a  method  of  common  prayer,  which  has  since 
disappeared,  in  which,  after  the  priest  or  deacon  had 
declared  the  object  of  supplication  and  bidden  the 
people  to  pray,  there  was  silence  in  the  church  while 
the  prayer  was  offered,  followed  by  the  injunction  to 
pray  more  fervently,  when  silence  again  prevailed. 
To  this  custom  Chrysostom  alluded  when  he  ex- 
claimed, "Great  is  the  power  of  the  congregation." 
But  so  late  as  the  sixth  century,  according  to 
Duchesne,  the  Leonian  Sacramentary,  so-called,  gives 
ground  for  supposing  that  improvised  prayer  was 
still  practised,  or  at  least  the  insertion  of  phrases 
prepared  by  the  officiant  himself. 


The  earliest  accounts  of  Christian  worship  connect 
the  Lord's  Supper  with  the  Agape,  which  may  be 
defined  as  a  common  evening  meal,  in  imitation  of 
the  last  supper  of  Christ  with  his  disciples,  when 
"  after  supper  he  took  the  cup. "  It  is  possible  not 
only  that  this  arrangement  was  followed  in  the  social 
meeting  of  the  Christian  community,  but  that  in 
individual  households  the  evening  meal  became  a 
Christian  agape,  where  after  supper  the  head  of  the 


40  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

household  presided,  praying  over  the  bread  and  tak- 
ing the  cup. 

Traces  of  the  agape  are  also  to  be  seen  in  the 
Didache,  and  in  the  letter  of  Pliny  to  Trajan.  Let 
me  read  here  these  two  accounts,  although  you  are 
already  familiar  with  them.  The  service  of  the 
Didache  is  peculiar,  and  according  to  a  type  which 
has  had  no  historical  development. 

*'Now  concerning  the  Eucharist,  thus  give  thanks: 
first,  concerning  the  cup.  AVe  thank  thee,  our  Father, 
for  the  holy  vine  of  David  thy  servant,  which  thou  hast 
made  known  to  us  through  Jesus  thy  servant ;  to  Thee  be 
the  glory  forever. 

"And  concerning  the  broken  bread  ;  We  thank  thee,  our 
Father,  for  the  life  and  knowledge  which  Thou  hast  made 
known  to  us  through  Jesus,  thy  servant :  to  Thee  be  the 
glory  forever.  Just  as  this  broken  bread  was  scattered 
over  the  hills  and  having  been  gathered  together  became 
one,  so  let  Thy  church  be  gathered  together  from  the  ends 
of  the  earth  into  Thy  Kingdom  ;  for  thine  is  the  glory  and 
the  power  through  Jesus  Christ  forever.  But  let  no  one 
eat  or  drink  of  your  Eucharist,  except  those  baptised  into 
the  Lord's  name  :  for  in  regard  to  this  the  Lord  hath  said  : 
Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto  the  dogs. 

"iVoio  after  ye  are  filled  thus  do  ye  give  thanks :  We 
thank  thee  holy  Father  for  Thy  holy  name,  which  thou 
hast  caused  to  dwell  in  our  hearts ;  and  for  the  knowledge 
and  faith  and  immortality,  which  tliou  hast  made  known 
to  us  through  Jesus  thy  servant ;  to  Thee  be  glory  for- 
ever.    Thou  Almighty  Master  did'st  create  all  things  for 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  41 

thy  name's  sake  ;  both  food  and  druik  thou  did'st  give  to 
men  for  enjoyment,  in  order  that  they  might  give  thanks 
to  Thee.  But  to  us  Thou  hast  graciously  given  spiritual 
food  and  drink  and  eternal  life  through  thy  servant.  Be- 
fore all  things  we  thank  Thee  that  thou  art  powerful :  to 
Thee  be  glory  forever.  Remember,  Lord,  thy  Church,  to  de- 
liver it  from  every  evil  and  to  make  it  perfect  in  thy  love, 
and  gather  it  from  the  four  winds,  the  sanctified,  into  thy 
Kingdom  which  thou  hast  prepared  for  it ;  for  thine  is  the 
power  and  the  glory  forever.  Let  Grace  come  and  let 
this  world  pass  away.  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David ! 
Whoever  is  holy  let  him  come  :  Whoever  is  not  let  him 
repent.  Maranatha.  Amen.  But  permit  the  prophets  to 
give  thanks  as  much  as  they  will," 

In  Pliny's  letter  to  Trajan,  which  contains  infor- 
mation extracted  from  the  Christians  by  the  Roman 
governor,  it  is  said  that  "they  were  wont  to  meet  on 
a  stated  day  before  sunrise,  when  they  offered  a  form 
of  invocation  to  Christ  as  to  a  God,  binding  them- 
selves also  by  an  oath  not  for  any  guilty  purpose,  but 
not  to  commit  thefts  or  robberies  or  adulteries,  not 
to  break  their  word,  not  to  repudiate  deposits  when 
called  upon.  These  ceremonies  having  been  gone 
through,  they  separated  and  again  met  together  for 
the  purpose  of  taking  food,  — food  that  is  of  an 
ordinary  and  innocent  character." 

In  consequence  of  the  prohibition  of  Trajan  against 
secret  societies,  the  agape  seems  for  a  while  to  have 
been  given  up,  and  the  Lord's  Supper  as  distinct 
from  the  agape  was  transferred  to  the  morning  hours, 


42  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

where  it  followed  the  homiletic  service.  In  the  next 
description  of  Christian  worship  as  contained  in 
Justin  Martyr's  Apology,  about  the  middle  of  the 
second  centur}^,  the  agape  is  not  mentioned,  but  the 
Lord's  Supper  is  described  as  following  a  service  at 
which  the  catechumens  were  present,  in  which  the 
Scriptures  were  read,  prayers  were  offered,  together 
with  a  sermon  or  exhortation. 

There  are  two  descriptions  in  Justin;  they  are 
short,  and  1  will  give  them  both. 

''Having  ended  the  prayers  we  salute  one  another  with 
a  kiss.  There  is  then  brought  to  the  president  or  leader 
among  the  brethren  bread  and  a  cup  of  wine  mixed  with 
water;  and  he  taking  them,  gives  praise  and  glory  to 
the  Father  of  the  universe  through  the  name  of  the  Son 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  offers  thanks  at  considerable 
length  for  our  being  considered '  worthy  to  receive  these 
things.  And  when  he  has  concluded  the  prayers  and 
thanksgivings  all  the  people  express  assent  by  saying 
Amen.  And  when  the  president  has  given  thanks  and 
the  people  have  expressed  assent,  those  who  are  called  by 
us  deacons  give  to  each  of  those  present  to  partake  of 
the  bread  and  wine  mixed  with  water,  over  which  the 
thanksgiving  was  pronounced  and  to  those  who  are  ab- 
sent, they  carry  away  a  portion."  • 

"  And  on  the  day  called  Sunday,  all  who  live  in  the 
city  or  in  the  country  gather  together  to  one  place,  and 
the  memoirs  of  the  Apostles  or  the  writings  of  the  proph- 
ets are  read,  as  long  as  time  permits;  then,  when  the 
reader  has  ceased,  the  president  verbally  instructs  and 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  43 

exhorts  to  the  imitation  of  these  good  thiugs.  Then  we^ 
all  rise  together  and  pray,  and  as  we  before  said,  when 
our  prayer  is  ended,  bread  and  wine  and  water  are 
brought^  and  tlie  president  in  like  manner  offers  prayers 
and  thanksgivings  according  to  his  ability  and  the  people 
assent  saying  Amen.  And  there  is  a  distribution  to  each 
and  a  participation  of  that  over  which  thanks  have  been 
given,  and  to  those  who  are  absent  a  portion  is  sent  by 
the  deacons.  And  they  w^ho  are  well  to  do  and  will- 
ing, give  what  each  thinks  fit,  and  what  is  collected  is 
deposited  with  the  president  who  succors  the  orphans  and 
widows  and  those  in  sickness  or  want,  the  prisoners  and 
the  strangers  among  us." 

Justin's  account  might  be  made  the  occasion  of 
extended  comment,  which  the  limits  of  my  time  and 
subject  will  not  allow.  But  the  main  points  to  be 
noted  are  that  the  Lord's  Supper  has  been  discon- 
nected from  the  agape,  and  transferred  from  the  even- 
ing to  the  morning,  following  the  homiletic  service, 
and  we  may  also  note  the  great  simplicity  of  ritual 
direction  and  observance. 

But  the  agape  had  left  so  deep  an  impression,  and 
was  also  so  beautiful  an  expression  of  Christian 
love,  that  it  still  continued  for  a  time  to  be  observed. 
Tertullian  refers  to  it  as  still  maintained  about  the 
beginning  of  the  third  century,  and  also  Clement  of 
Alexandria.  Even  so  late  as  the  Synod  of  Gangra, 
in  the  fourth  century,  those  are  reproved  who  speak 
disrespectfully  of  the  agape.  The  rite,  however, 
was  doomed  to  disappear.     It  was  incongruous  with 


44  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

the  splendid  churches  that  began  to  be  built  after 
the  accession  of  Constantine,  and  with  the  solemn 
and  stately  formalities  of  ritual.  The  relics  of  it 
may  still  exist,  as  in  the  Roman  Church,  in  the  small 
cakes  called  eulogioe,  which  on  certain  occasions 
are  distributed  to  the  people;  or  in  the  Eastern 
Church,  in  the  bread  which  has  been  blessed  in  the 
Prothesis,  but  not  consecrated  on  the  altar,  and 
which,  after  the  divine  office  is  ended,  is  given  to 
the  people  who  are  not  deemed  worthy  of  commun- 
ing in  the  consecrated  elements. 

This  union  of  the  agape  with  the  Lord's  Supper, 
their  subsequent  separation,  and  the  final  suppression 
of  the  agape,  have  a  deep  significance  for  the  devel- 
opment of  Christian  worship,  because  of  the  perpetua- 
tion in  a  modified  form  of  one  feature  of  the  agape, 
which  constituted  one  of  its  most  potent  charms. 
The  people  themselves  furnished  the  material  for 
the  evening  meal,  which  thus  became,  as  it  were,  a 
kind  of  alms  or  offering,  in  which  the  poor  partici- 
pated, as  well  as  a  manifestation  of  Christian  love. 
When  the  agape  was  discontinued,  these  contribu- 
tions, which  also  included  the  bread  and  wine  for  the 
eucharistic  feast,  still  continued  to  be  made,  but  now 
they  were  enveloped  with  a  new  solemnity,  and  be- 
came in  themselves  as  if  meritorious  acts  of  worship. 
This  view,  so  far  as  it  may  be  traced,  first  appears 
in  the  writings  of  Cyprian  of  Carthage,  who  seems 
to  have  been  influenced  by  Jewish  rather  than  by 
heathen  analooies  in  his  doctrine  of  oblation  and 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  45 

sacrifice.  The  giving  of  alms  he  regards  as  a  reli- 
gious act,  v/hich  is  placed  to  one's  credit  in  the 
records  of  heaven,  and  therefore  contributes  to  sal- 
vation. The  bread  and  wine  brought  for  the  Lord's 
Supper  form  Avhat  is  called  the  lesser,  or  "  lower  obla- 
tion."  After  their  consecration  they  are  offered  in  a 
"higher  oblation"  wdiich  is  presented  to  God  as  an 
acceptable  sacrifice.  Between  the  middle  of  the 
third  century,  when  Cyprian  flourished,  and  the 
middle  of  the  fourth  century,  the  date  of  the  Clemen- 
tine liturgy,  this  idea  had  come  to  prevail  widely 
throughout  the  Church.  In  the  liturgy  as  described 
by  Justin,  in  the  account  of  Christian  worship  in 
Pliny's  letter  to  Trajan,  or  in  the  Didache,  there  is 
no  such  ritual  act  mentioned  as  an  oblation.  A 
prayer  is  made  over  the  bread  and  the  wine,  but  they 
are  not  presented  to  God  as  a  sacrificial  offering.  If 
the  later  importance  attached  to  the  oblation  had 
been  assigned  to  it  in  this  earlier  age,  it  would 
surely  have  been  mentioned. 

Let  me  give  at  this  point  a  summary  of  the  Clem- 
entine liturgy  to  which  I  have  referred.  It  is  a  pic- 
ture of  the  worship  as  it  was  conducted  in  the  age  of 
the  Emperor  Constantius,  the  son  of  Constantine, 
and  although  somewhat  uncertain  in  its  theology,  it 
is  reverential  toward  Christ  in  the  highest  degree. 
It  suggests  a  scene  in  which  preparation  is  made  as 
for  some  great  solemnity. 

'  "  Let  the  children  stand  at  the  reading  desk  and  let  a 
deacon  stand  by  them  that  they  be  not  disorderly.     Let 


46  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

the  deacons  walk  about  and  watch  the  men  and  the  women 
that  no  tumult  be  made  and  that  no  one  nod  or  whisper 
or  slumber.  Let  the  deacons  stand  at  the  doors  of  the 
men  and  the  sub-deacons  at  those  of  the  women,  that  no 
one  go  out  nor  a  door  be  opened  even  for  one  of  the 
faithful  at  the  time  of  the  oblation.  But  let  one  of 
the  deacons  bring  water  to  wash  the  hands  of  the  priests, 
which  is  a  symbol  of  the  purity  of  the  souls  that  are  de- 
voted to  God." 

When  the  injunction  has  been  renewed  which  has 
ordered  the  departure  of  the  unbelievers,  the  peni- 
tents, the  catechumens,  and  the  hearers,  the  faithful 
who  remain  are  exhorted  to  have  nothing  against 
any  one,  to  come  in  sincerity,  and  to  stand  upright 
before  the  Lord  with  fear  and  trembling  to  make 
the  offering.  "  Then  let  the  deacons  bring  the  gifts 
of  bread  and  wine  to  the  bishop  at  the  altar,  and  let 
the  presbyters  stand  at  his  right  hand  and  at  his  left, 
as  disciples  stand  before  the  Master.  But  let  two  of 
the  deacons  on  each  side  of  the  altar  hold  a  fan  made 
of  some  thin  membrane,  and  let  them  silently  drive 
away  the  small  animals  that  fly  about,  that  they 
come  not  near  the  cups.  Let  the  High  Priest  pray 
by  himself,  and  let  him  put  on  his  shining  garment, 
and  stand  at  the  altar,  and  make  the  sign  of  the 
cross  upon  his  forehead  with  his  hand. " 

At  this  point  begins  the  AnapJiora  of  the  Greek 
liturgy,  the  Sursum  Corda  of  the  Latin  Mass. 


I     ''  Let  the  High  Priest  say,  The  grace  of  Almighty  God 
\  and  the  Love  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  the  fellow- 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  47 

ships  of  the  Holy  Ghost  be  with  you  all ;  to  which  all  the 
people  are  to  respond  with  one  voice,  And  with  thy 
spirit.  The  High  Priest,  Lift  up  your  mind ;  and  the 
people,  We  lift  it  up  unto  the  Lord.  The  Priest,  Let  us 
give  thanks  unto  our  Lord  God :  the  people,  It  is  meet 
and  right  so  to  do.  Then  let  the  High  Priest  say,  It  is 
very  meet  and  right  before  all  things  to  sing  an  hymn  to 
Thee,  who  art  the  true  God,  who  art  before  all  beings, 
from  whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  earth  is 
named.'* 

Such  is  the  beginning  of  the  long  prayer  which, 
without  any  break,  proceeds  first  to  glorify  God  in 
his  wisdom  and  goodness  and  power,  next  at  some 
length  and  with  much  detail  to  commemorate  the 
creation  of  the  whole  world  and  the  goodness  which 
is  revealed  in  its  adaptability  to  man ;  then  the  crea- 
tion of  man,  the  garden  of  Eden,  and  the  fall  are 
mentioned,  and  the  beginning  of  the  process  of 
redemption.  After  the  leading  features  of  the  Old 
Testament  history  in  the  successive  stages  of  the 
process  of  redemption  have  been  rehearsed,  there 
follows  the  Cherubic  hymn,  as  the  preparation  for 
the  recountal  of  the  story  of  the  Incarnation:  "For 
these  things,  glory  be  to  Thee,  0  Lord  Almighty, 
whom  innumerable  hosts  of  angels,  archangels, 
thrones,  dominions,  principalities,  authorities  and 
powers  with  their  everlasting  armies  do  adore,  say- 
ing, together  with  thousand  thousands  of  angels  and 
ten  thousand  times  ten  thousands  of  angels,  saying 
incessantly  and  with  constant  and  loud  voices,  —  and 


48  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

let  all  the  people  say  it  with  them.  Holy,  Holy, 
Holy  Lord  God  of  Hosts,  heaven  and  earth  arc  full 
of  thy  glory.     Glory  be  to  Thee,  0  Lord  most  High." 

The  incidents  of  the  life  of  Christ  are  then  given 
as  they  lead  up  to  his  crucifixion,  and  Christ  is 
glorified  in  his  redeeming  work  as  a  preparation  for 
the  culmination  of  the  office,  in  the  sacred  words  of 
institution  of  the  mystery,  when  he  broke  the  bread 
and  took  the  cup. 

The  language  of  the  prayer  now  grows  more  in- 
tense and  intimate  in  the  intercession  which  follow^s 
for  the  living  and  the  dead,  till  it  finally  concludes 
with  the  angelic  hymn,  the  Gloria  in  Uxcelsis,  the 
preliminary  to  the  distribution  of  the  elements.  To 
the  waiting  congregation  in  the  attitude  of  standing, 
the  bishop  in  turn  gives  the  oblation,  saying,  "  The 
body  of  Christ,"  and  the  deacon  gives  the  cup  with 
the  words,  "the  blood  of  Christ,  the  cup  of  Life." 
And  while  the  communion  is  in  process,  is  said  the 
thirty-fourth  Psalm,  and  a  more  exquisite  Psalm 
could  not  have  been  chosen :  "  0  taste  and  see  that 
the  Lord  is  gracious.  Blessed  is  the  man  that 
trusteth  in  him." 

After  the  distribution  of  the  elements  a  shorter 
prayer  follows,  and  the  office  concludes  wdth  the 
benediction,  which  has  a  tendency,  as  in  other 
Oriental  liturgies,  to  expand  itself,  until  it  has  been 
illustrated  anew  what  the  blessing  of  God  may  mean. 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  49 


II 

As  we  study  this  directory  for  worship,  which  is 
in  many  respects  the  model  of  the  later  Oriental 
liturgies  as  they  appeared  in  the  eighth  and  ninth 
centuries,  it  is  seen  to  contain  some  marked  diver- 
gencies from  the  worship  of  the  earlier  Church.  In 
the  earlier  age  the  Christians  came  together  in  a 
spirit  of  gratitude  to  acknowledge  a  great  work 
which  had  already  been  accomplished,  some  blessing 
which  was  continuously  bestowed.  But  here  the 
solemnity  centers  and  culminates  in  a  great  act  to 
be  performed.  Something  is  to  be  done  by  means 
of  which  a  desired  end  is  to  be  attained.  That  act 
is  the  oblation  of  the  elements  of  bread  and  wine, 
the  offering  of  them  to  God  after  they  have  been 
consecrated  by  the  repetition  of  the  w^ords  of 
institution :  — 

'^  We  offer  to  Thee,"  so  runs  the  formula,  "  Our  King 
and  God,  according  to  His  constitution  this  bread  and 
this  cup,  giving  thee  thanks  through  Him  that  Thou  hast 
thought  us  worthy  to  stand  before  Thee  and  to  sacrifice  to 
Thee ;  and  we  beseech  Thee  that  Thou  wilt  mercifully 
look  down  upon  these  gifts  which  are  here  set  before 
Thee,  O  Thou  God,  who  standest  in  need  of  none  of  our 
offerings.  And  do  Thou  accept  them  to  the  honor  of  Thy 
Christ,  and  send  down  upon  this  sacrifice  thine  Holy 
Spirit  .  .  .  that  He  may  show  this  bread  to  be  the  body 
of  Thy  Christ  and  the  cup  to  be  the  blood  of  Thy  Christ, 

4 


50  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

that  those  wbo  fire  partakers  thereof  maybe  strengthened 
for  piety  and  may  receive  the  remission  of  their  sins,  may 
be  delivered  from  the  devil  and  his  deceits,  may  be  filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,  may  be  made  worthy  of  Thy  Christ, 
and  may  obtain  eternal  life  upon  Thy  reconciliation  to 
them,  O  Lord  God  Almighty." 

To  comment  fully  upon  the  significance  of  this 
change  in  Christian  worship  is  here  impossible. 
But  I  must  allude  briefly  at  least  to  one  of  its 
aspects,  which  constitutes  a  supreme  motive  in  the 
development  of  the  ritual  which  was  to  follow.  A 
change  is  taking  place  in  the  thought  regarding  God, 
by  which  what  is  called  anthropomorphism  is  being 
substituted  for  the  earlier  conception  of  God  as  a 
spirit,  whom  they  that  worship  must  worship  in 
spirit  and  in  truth.  Of  course  our  language  regard- 
ing God,  from  its  inherent  limits  and  deficiencies, 
must  always  have  an  anthropomorphic  character. 
In  our  highest  thought,  He  is  infinite  intelligence, 
to  whom  the  universe  lies  open,  and  in  whom,  as  in 
a  focus,  is  concentred  the  unity  and  harmony  for  the 
sight  of  which  we  vainly  strive.  Because  all  things 
are  known  to  Him,  we  speak  of  Him  in  anthropomor- 
phic language  as  seeing  whatever  is  done,  as  hearing 
prayer.  We  go  further,  and  speak  of  His  eye  as 
fastened  upon  the  children  of  men,  His  ear  as 
always  open  to  their  supplication.  Or  again,  in 
the  manner  of  Hebrew  prophets  and  psalmists,  we 
speak  of  His  right  hand  and  His  glorious  arm.  But 
it  is  important  to  guard  our  thought  of  God  against 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  51 

the  imperfection  of  language.  The  eye  and  the  ear 
are  the  most  spiritual  of  the  avenues  to  the  human 
soul.  The  sense  of  smell,  of  taste,  or  of  touch,  are 
more  closely  related  to  our  material  bodily  organiza- 
tion, and  lend  themselves  less  easily  to  the  idea  of  a 
spirit.  It  is  of  course  hard  to  say  in  this,  as  in 
everything  else  about  which  there  is  difference  of 
opinion  or  practice,  just  exactly  where  the  line  is  to 
be  drawn  which  separates  the  higher  from  the  lower; 
but  we  generally  knov/  when  the  line  has  been 
passed.  The  fathers  and  writers  of  the  ancient 
Church  in  the  first  three  centuries  were  making  a 
desperate  struggle  to  maintain  the  spiritual  concep- 
tion of  Deity  as  a  being  who  is  "  without  body,  parts 
or  passions,"  according  to  the  very  significant  lan- 
guage of  the  first  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the 
Enolish  Church.  But  in  the  fourth  century  this 
spiritual  idea  of  God  had  begun  to  yield  to  an 
anthropomorphism  which  conceived  of  Deity  as  exist- 
ing in  bodily  form.  The  change  was  silent  and  un- 
perceived,  accomplished  without  discussion,  and  only 
acknowledged  after  the  transition  had  been  made. 
In  the  earlier  Church  there  was  also  sacrifice  and 
offering,  but  it  was  what  we  call  a  spiritual  offering, 
the  sacrifice  of  prayer  and  thanksgiving,  and  the 
grateful  consecration  of  one's  self,  after  the  likeness 
of  the  offering  of  Christ  once  for  all.  It  was  there- 
fore a  momentous  change  from  a  spiritual  sacrifice 
to  a  physical  or  material  one.  From  the  higher 
point  of  view,  it  is  incongruous  to  offer  to  Deity  the 


52  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

physical  or  material  sacrifice,  because  the  whole 
world  is  His,  and  He  needs  none  of  these  things. 
There  is  only  one  thing  which  God  has  not  and' 
desires  to  have,  —  the  grateful  love  of  His  chil- 
dren, manifested  in  obedience  to  His  will.  In  His 
mysterious  economy.  He  has  left  men  free  to  make 
this  offering  or  not  as  they  choose,  while  using  His 
love  and  His  power  to  persuade  their  choice.  This 
offering  of  the  consecrated  will  is  seen  and  known 
to  spirit  alone.  "  Speak  thou  to  Him,  for  He  hears 
thee,  and  spirit  with  spirit  may  meet." 

The  introduction  into  the  worship  of  what  is 
called  the  "higher  oblation,"  as  the  supreme  act 
of  Christian  devotion,  was  accompanied  with  a 
change  in  the  popular  thought  regarding  God,  of 
which,  however,  the  traces  are  slight  in  the  litera- 
ture of  the  time.  And  yet  no  such  change  can  be 
accomplished  without  some  external  evidence,  and 
somewhere,  if  we  look,  we  shall  find  the  conscious- 
ness of  an  impending  transition.  In  Christian  his- 
tory, it  is  those  insignificant  controversies,  as  they 
seem  to  us,  which  are  obscure  or  scandalous,  and  do 
not  seem  as  if  they  would  repay  our  laborious  inves- 
tigation, which  may  be  the  turning-points  on  which 
hinge  momentous  results. 

There  was  one  such  controversy  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  fourth  century,  not  far  from  the  time  when 
this  liturgy  on  which  I  am  commenting  was  pro- 
duced. It  is  known  as  the  Origenistic  controversy, 
and   was  felt   in  Alexandria    and    Constantinople, 

n/ 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  53 

Antioch  and  Jerusalem,  those  centres  of  church  life, 
for  each  of  which  was  afterwards  claimed  a  liturgical 
interest  and  activity.  I  will  not  stop  to  describe  it; 
one  remark  will  answer  my  purpose.  The  contro- 
versy began  with  a  complaint  of  the  monks  in  Egypt 
against  Origen,  because  he  had  written  in  his  books 
that  the  Father  did  not  see  the  Son,  or  the  Son  the 
Father,  as  with  bodily  vision.  In  other  words,  the 
communion  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  was  a  spiritual 
fellowship.  To  this  teaching,  which  had  been 
almost  universal  in  the  Church  of  the  first  three 
centuries,  some  of  the  Egyptian  monks  now  made 
opposition,  raising  the  cry  of  the  woman  at  the 
empty  sepulchre,  "  They  have  taken  away  my  Lord, 
and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid  Him."  Such 
was  the  beginning  of  the  movement  which  finally 
ended  in  the  condemnation  of  Origen  and  the  dis- 
couragement of  free  inquiry  in  theology. 


Ill 

Again,  there  is  to  be  noticed  in  this  Clementine 
liturgy  an  increase  in  what  may  be  called  ceremo- 
nialism, as  when  the  ministrant  is  directed  to  put 
on  his  shining  garment  in  order  to  stand  before  the 
altar  for  the  oblation.  When  compared  with  later 
liturgies,  the  amount  of  ceremony  is  yet  small  and 
rubrical  directions  are  few.  But  compared  with  the 
simplicity  of  worship  of  the  earlier   Church,  there 


64  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

has  been  a  great  change  in  this  respect,  which  also 
marks  the  introduction  of  a  new  motive,  controlling 
the  development  of  the  cnltus.  We  shall  not  find 
any  discussion  over  this  motive  in  Christian  litera- 
ture, as  there  was  over  the  theological  opinions  of 
the  time;  it  was  a  silent  change,  tacitly  accepted 
without  being  formally  announced;  it  seemed  fitting 
and  proper  that  there  should  be  an  increase  of  form 
or  ceremonial ;  it  was  not  imposed  by  the  authority 
of  councils,  but  it  spread  rapidly  from  church  to 
church,  till  it  became  universal.  And  yet  again  it 
would  be  strange  if  somewhere  in  the  literature  of 
the  time  some  writer  had  not  stated  the  principle 
which  explained  the  motive  of  ceremonial,  and 
attempted  its  defence  and  justification.  There  is  a 
passage  in  the  writiiigs  of  Gregory  of  Nyssa  to  which 
I  call  your  attention  as  being  profoundly  significant 
for  the  history  of  ritual  development.  He  lived  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  fourth  century,  and  was  nearly 
if  not  quite  contemporaneous  with  the  production  of 
the  Clementine  liturgy.  He  was  a  Cappadocian  by 
birth,  which  means  that  he  shared  in  the  Oriental 
temperament  to  a  certain  extent,  and  although  he 
had  received  the  benefits  of  Greek  training  in  the 
schools  of  Athens,  and  was  a  disciple  of  Athanasius, 
yet  he  had  another  element  in  his  composition,  and 
never  escaped  the  scnsuousness  of  Oriental  influence. 
In  his  treatise  on  the  Holy  Spirit,  Gregory  of  Nyssa 
writes  as  follows ;  — 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  55 

"  Inasmuch,  as  men  when  approaching  emperors  and 
potentates  for  the  objects  which  they  wish  in  some  way  to 
obtain  from  those  rulers,  do  not  bring  to  them  their  mere 
petition  only,  but  employ  every  possible  means  to  induce 
them  to  feel  pity  and  favor  towards  themselves,  adopting 
a  humble  voice  and  a  kneeling  position,  clasping  their 
knees,  prostrating  themselves  on  the  ground,  and  putting 
forward  to  plead  for  their  petition  all  sorts  of  pathetic 
signs  to  wake  that  pity,  so  it  is  that  those  who  recognize 
the  true  Potentate,  by  whom  all  things  in  existence  are 
controlled,  when  they  are  supplicating  for  that  which 
they  have  at  heart,  some  lowly  in  spirit  because  of  piti- 
able conditions  in  this  world,  some  with  their  thoughts 
lifted  up  because  of  their  eternal  mysterious  hopes,  seeing 
that  they  know  not  how  to  ask  and  that  their  humanity  is 
not  capable  of  displaying  any  reverence  that  can  reach 
to  the  grandeur  of  that  glory,  they  carry  the  ceremonial 
used  in  the  case  of  men  into  the  service  of  the  Deity. 
And  this  is  what  worship  is,  that  worship  I  mean  which  is 
offered  for  objects  we  have  at  heart  along  with  supplica- 
tion and  humiliation." 

Comment  upon  this  passage  is  hardly  necessary. 
The  anthropomorphic  conception  of  God  is  here  seen 
as  tending  toward  the  acceptance  of  the  Roman 
emperor,  after  he  had  assumed  the  arbitrary  char- 
acter of  an  Oriental  despot,  as  the  standard  by  which 
to  adjust  the  formal  manner  of  approaching  God. 
The  etiquette  of  an  imperial  court  determines  the 
external  aspect  of  Christian  worship.  Since  Deity 
is  conceived  as  holding  a  reception  on  earth,  there 


56  CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP 

must  be  the  same  splendor  of  surroundings,  the  same 
regulations  of  attitude  on  the  part  of  those  who 
approach,  while  officials  who  represent  or  guard  his 
presence  must  be  clothed  with  becoming  splendor  in 
order  to  represent  the  dignity  of  the  monarch  dwell- 
ing in  some  remoter  grandeur;  whose  secret,  glorious 
shrine  so  intimidates  and  awes  the  worshipper  that 
he  loses  his  power  of  utterance,  and  must  be  content 
with  the  physical  signs  of  abject  humility  and  desti- 
tution. There  may  have  been  an  educational  influ- 
ence in  such  a  dramatization  of  piety  towards  God, 
and  it  was  something  after  all  that  human  souls, 
shut  out  from  the  vision  or  sympathy  of  the  earthly 
king,  were  still  able  at  their  will  to  enter  the  pres- 
ence of  the  King  of  kings.  It  may  have  done  some- 
thing also  to  check  the  exercise  of  arbitrary  power  in 
the  earthly  sovereign,  at  a  time  when  there  was  no 
other  check,  that  he  should  be  represented  in  Chris- 
tian worship  as  dwarfed  by  the  majesty  of  the  Eternal 
Potentate.  But  one  also  recalls  the  words  of  Christ: 
"I  say  not  unto  you  that  I  will  pray  the  Father  for 
you,  for  the  Father  Himself  loveth  you. "  When  the 
disciples  asked  how  they  were  to  pray,  the  answer 
was  given,  "When  ye  pray,  say.  Our  Father.'^ 
It  was  the  heathens  who  thought  to  be  heard  by 
much  speaking.  But  in  the  dramatization  of  the 
soul's  relations  with  God,  there  is  a  danger  of  for- 
mality hardly  compatible  with  the  worship  which  is 
in  spirit  and  in  truth. 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  57 


IV 


There  is  one  other  peculiarity  about  the  Clemen- 
tine liturgy  which  is  so  important  as  to  demand  our 
special  attention.  The  subject  with  which  it  is 
related  is  difficult  and  obscure,  leading  us  to  a  field 
of  inquiry  which  has  not  yet  been  thoroughly 
explored. 

It  is  a  prominent  feature  of  this  liturgy  that  not 
only  in  the  eucharistic  prayer  given  in  the  eighth 
book  of  the  Apostolic  Constitutions,  but  also  found 
in  the  liturgical  sketch  given  in  the  seventh  book, , 
there  is  an  emphatic  and  beautiful  commemoration  of, 
nature,  external  nature  and  this  visible  world.     The  \ 
story  of  the  creation  is  rehearsed  in  detail,  and  the 
beauty  of  the  kosmos  is  ackowledged  in  eloquent  lan- 
guage.    God   is   praised   for  having  beautified  the 
world,   and  for  our  comfort  rendered  it  illustrious 
with  sun  and  moon  and  choir  of  stars  which  forever 
praise  His  glorious  majesty.     The  water  is  commem- 
orated also  for  drink  and  for  cleansing,  the  air  for 
respiration  and  for  sound,  the  fire  for  our  consola- 
tion in  cold  and  darkness,  the  navigable  ocean,  and 
the    land    with    the    animal    creation,    the    sweet- 
smelling  and  healing  herbs,  the  fruits  of  the  earth, 
the  order  of  the  seasons,  the  courses  of  the  clouds, 
and  the  winds  which  blow  when  commanded  by  God. 
For  all  these  things  praise  is  given  to  Him  in  the 
eucharistic  prayer,  as  though  it  formed  an  indispen- 


V 


68  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

sable  element  in  worship  to  acknowledge  the  beauty, 
the  glory,  and  especially  the  goodness  of  the  visible 
world  of  external  nature. 

The  commemoration  of  external  nature  forms  a 
part  of  every  Eastern  liturgy.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem, 
who  lived  in  the  later  part  of  the  fourth  century, 
speaks  of  it  as  if  an  indispensable  element  to  a 
true  eucharist.  After  the  Anaphora,  as  it  is  called, 
with  which  the  divine  office  begins,  Cyril  remarks 
that  the  next  step  is  to  commemorate  the  creation : 
"  We  make  mention  of  heaven  and  earth  and  sea ;  of 
sun  and  moon ;  of  stars,  and  all  the  creation  rational 
and  irrational,  visible  and  invisible."  So  also 
Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  who  lived  at  the  close  of 
the  fifth  century,  in  his  outline  of  the  eucharistic 
office,  makes  the  Hierarch  celebrate  the  works  of 
God  before  proceeding  to  consecrate  the  divine  gifts. 
In  the  words  of  Dionysius,  or  attributed  to  him :  — 

"  The  commemoration  of  Thy  gifts,  O  Lord,  exceeds 
the  power  of  mind  or  speech  or  thought ;  nor  can  human 
lips  or  minds  glorify  Thee  as  Thou  art  worthy  to  be 
praised.  For  by  Thy  word  the  heavens  were  made,  and 
by  the  breath  of  Thy  mouth  all  the  supernal  powers,  all 
the  lights  which  are  in  the  firmament,  sun  and  moon,  the 
sea  and  the  dry  land,  and  whatever  in  them  is.  Things 
which  have  no  voice  by  their  silence,  and  those  endowed 
with  speech,  praise  Thee  perpetually  through  word  and 
song,  because  Thou  art  by  nature  good,  and  in  Thy 
incomprehensible  essence  above  all  praise.  This  visible 
creation  related  to  the  senses  praises  Thee,  O  Lord,  as 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  59 

well  as  that  higher  iutelleetual  world  above  the  conditions 
of  sensuous  perception.  Heaven  and  earth  glorify 
Thee ;  sea  and  air  proclaim  Thee ;  the  sun  in  his  course 
praises  Thee  ;  the  mooji  in  its  changes  venerates  Thee. 
Troops  of  archangels  and  hosts  of  angels,  powers  elevated 
above  the  world  and  above  all  human  faculty,  send  their 
benedictions  to  Thy  throne,  —  sweet  songs  and  pure,  free 
from  all  earthly  strain ;  joining  all  in  one  eternal  hymn  of 
praise,  — '  Holy,  Holy,  Holy.'  " 

Such  was  the  way  in  which  the  Oriental  Church 
met  and  satisfied  the  deep  unquenchable  instinct 
which  in  earlier  ages  had  given  birth  to  the  nature- 
religions,  and  had  generated  the  worship  of  sun  and 
moon  and  stars.  This  worship  the  Church  pro- 
hibited and  overcame,  resisting  the  fascination  which 
it  exerted.  How  deep  and  potent  its  charm  for  the 
Oriental  mind  is  seen  in  the  patriarch  Job's  cry  for 
forgiveness,  if  ever  he  had  been  tempted  to  kiss  his 
hand  to  the  moon  riding  in  her  beauty. 

But  the  commemoration  of  nature  is  not  to  be  found 
in  the  Latin  or  Western  liturgies,  nor  in  the  Sarum 
Use  in  England.  While  it  is  a  most  characteristic 
feature  of  Oriental  liturgies,  its  absence  from  Occi- 
dental worship  is  also  deeply  characteristic  of  the 
Western  civilization.  The  Western  world  has  never 
felt  the  charm  of  nature  as  it  has  been  felt  in  the 
East.  Rather  has  it  been  called  to  resist  and  con- 
quer nature,  to  subdue  the  powers  of  nature  to  the 
will  and  service  of  man.  According  to  the  Oriental 
interpretation  of  the  miracle,  it  is  wrought  by  sym- 


60  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

pathy  with  nature;  according  to  the  Occidental  in- 
terpretation, the  miracle  is  essentially  a  violation  of 
the  laws  of  nature,  wherein  lies  its  influence  upon 
the  elevation  of  human  life  and  the  development  of 
personality. 

It  should  be  said,  however,  that  the  Latin  Church 
has  found  a  place,  though  a  subordinate  one,  for  the 
recognition  of  this  view  of  nature,  by  incorporating 
in  the  Breviary  the  Benedicite,  or  the  Song  of  the 
Three  Children,  which  begins  with  the  words,  *'0 
all  ye  works  of  the  Lord,  bless  ye  the  Lord,  praise 
Him  and  magnify  Him  forever."  The  English 
church  also  adopted  the  Benedicite  as  one  of  the 
Canticles  in  the  office  of  Morning  Prayer;  retaining 
it  there  despite  the  objections  of  the  Puritans,  who 
requested  that  some  Psalm  or  Scripture  hymn  be 
substituted  for  it.  It  is  possible  that  the  Puritan 
dislike  of  the  Benedicite  had  some  deeper  root 
than  the  circumstance  of  its  being  taken  from  the 
Apocrypha. 

But  there  is  a  further  aspect  of  this  subject  to 
which  we  must  now  turn.  It  is  in  the  environment 
of  the  Oriental  Church  that  we  must  seek  the  expla- 
nation of  its  emphatic  insistence  upon  the  natural 
order  as  good,  and  as  if  alive  and  choral  with  the 
worship  of  God.  Much  more  than  in  Western 
Europe  had  the  influence  been  felt  there  of  the  great 
nature  religions  which  prevailed. till  the  coming  of 
Christ.  In  Syria  and  in  Egypt  more  particularly 
was  the  Catholic  Church  confronted  with  both  the 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  61 

principle  and  the  practice.  If  tiiese  worships  had 
seemed  to  decline,  yet  there  came  to  them  a  revival 
in  the  second  century,  when  missionaries  and  priest- 
esses of  Isis,  or  of  the  Syrian  mother,  went  forth 
throughout  the  empire  to  propagate  their  ancient 
cults.  We  know  that  they  became  popular,  that 
they  were  eagerly  received,  the  mysteries  of  Mithras 
in  particular  finding  many  and  ardent  votaries. 

This  missionary  movement  on  the  part  of  the  old 
nature  religions  came  at  the  close  of  a  long  regime^ 
which  Plato  had  initiated  when  he  taught  that 
matter  was  evil,  that  man  was  superior  to  nature, 
and  had  called  man  to  the  knowledge  of  himself  as 
his  highest  study.  Plato  had  no  taste  for  the  old 
mythologies  which  deified  the  forces  of  nature,  but 
rather  regarded  them  as  immoral.  Socrates  had 
been  put  to  death  because  he  no  longer  believed  in 
them.  When  Christianity  came  into  the  world,  it 
almost  seemed  as  if  the  nature  worships  were  dead 
or  dying.  Nature  no  longer  appealed  to  man  as  in- 
stinct with  a  divine  life,  or  as  worthy  of  worship. 
On  the  contrary,  the  Gnostics  of  the  second  century 
in  their  speculative  systems  denounced  the  natural 
order  as  evil,  as  unworthy  of  creation  by  God.  They 
regarded  it  rather  as  the  work  of  some  evil  or  in- 
competent being,  who  was  called  the  world-maker  as 
distinct  from  the  true  and  highest  God.  When  the 
nature  religions  began  to  revive  and  reassert  their 
old  charm  in  the  second  century.  Christian  apolo- 
gists had  attacked  them  with  all  the  power  of  satire 


62  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

and  ridicule  at  their  command.  It  is  not  impossi- 
ble that  Tertullian,  before  he  entered  the  Catholic 
Church,  may  have  been  influenced  by  their  teaching ; 
and  the  same  may  be  true  of  Justin  Martyr,  though 
in  less  degree.  But  even  though  Tertullian  fought 
the  nature  worships  with  bitterness  and  vehemence, 
he  also  retained,  even  as  a  Montanist,  traces  of  their 
Inherent  principle  in  his  thought.  In  his  doctrine 
of  the  magical  efficacy  of  water  and  its  latent  spirit- 
ual potency,  in  his  insistence  on  the  sacredness  of  the 
flesh  and  the  eternal  permanence  of  the  human  form, 
in  his  doctrine  of  the  spiritual  efficacy  of  physical 
acts,  may  be  seen  the  ancient  conception  of  the  rela- 
tion between  body  and  soul,  between  the  material 
and  the  spiritual,  which  prevailed  before  Plato 
arose. 

It  was  in  the  fourth  century,  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  fourth  century,  the  age  of  the  Cappadocians  and 
of  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  that  an  influence  born  of  the 
reverence  for  physical  nature  began  to  tell  most 
powerfully  upon  Christian  thought  and  practice. 
This  was  also  the  age  when  the  principles  were 
reached  which  were  to  mould  the  worship  of  the 
Catholic  Church.  The  line  which  divides  Athanasius 
and  the  Nicene  theology  from  the  later  theology, 
which  came  into  vogue  in  the  Oriental  Church,  is 
profoundly  significant.  Athanasius  was  the  culmi- 
nation of  the  Anti -Nicene  age,  not  the  founder  of  a 
new  theology.  We  shall  not  understand  the  history 
of  the  ancient  Church  until  we  make  the  distinction 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  63 

sharp  and  clear  that  Athanasius  belongs  to  the 
school  of  Origen,  whatever  departures  from  his 
teaching  he  may  have  made,  while  Cyril  of  Alexan- 
dria is  the  antagonist  of  the  Origenistic  principles, 
and  helped  prepare  the  way  for  his  further  condem- 
nation. Cyril  introduced  into  theology  a  physical 
material  principle,  by  which  the  distinction  between 
spirit  and  body  was  weakened  and  neutralized.  He 
was  seeking  for  some  law  by  which  the  world  of 
matter  should  be  brought  into  organic  relationship 
with  spirit,  by  which  matter  and  spirit  should  be 
fused  into  some  higher  form  of  organic  life,  by 
which  matter  should  minister  to  the  spiritual  life. 
When  this  tendency  came  to  prevail,  as  it  did  after 
the  fifth  century,  is  it  any  wonder  that  Origen  should 
have  again  become  the  type  and  embodiment  of  all 
that  was  most  false  or  obnoxious !  Origen,  it  must 
be  admitted,  had  gone  too  far;  he  had  come  very 
near  conceding  that  the  natural  order  was  evil ;  he 
saw  evil  in  external  nature,  and  he  drew  the  infer- 
ence that  man  was  placed  in  this  world  to  expiate  the 
sins  of  a  former  existence,  that  the  human  body  was 
a  prison-house  in  which  the  soul  was  confined. 

It  is  outside  of  my  province  to  attempt  to  show 
how  this  new  motive,  originating  in  an  Oriental 
source,  modified  Christian  doctrine.  Hitherto  the 
leading  direction  in  theology  had  been  the  Pla- 
tonic Philosophy.  Now  it  became  an  Egyptian 
mysteriosophy,  which,  combined  with  kindred  tend- 
encies   in    the    remoter    Syria    of    the    East,    and 


64  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

planting  itself  upon  a  modified  conception  of  the 
Incarnation,  developed  into  the  Oriental  theology 
which  commingles  nature  and  spirit  in  organic 
fashion,  and  found  its  expression  in  Oriental  wor- 
ship. It  is  only  with  the  latter  that  I  am  here 
concerned. 

The  recovery  of  the  truth  which  had  been  endan- 
gered in  the  Church  of  the  first  three  centuries,  that 
the  "world  is  good,"  that  there  is  a  divine  life  in 
nature,  and  that  the  natural  order  has  been  ordained 
for  the  service  of  man  by  a  beneficent  Creator,  marks 
the  greatest  movement  in  the  history  of  ritual  devel- 
opment. But  this  remark  refers  mainly  to  the  East- 
ern Church.  The  Latin  Church  in  the  West  did 
not  feel  its  influence  until  a  later  age,  when  it  was 
too  late  for  its  incorporation  into  the  Latin  Mass. 
In  the  Eastern  Church  it  was  not  only  introduced 
into  the  liturgies,  but  it  gave  rise  to  a  peculiar  reli- 
gious philosophy  or  theosophy,  which  pervaded  every 
part  of  the  cultus,  and  gave  to  it  unity  and  coher- 
ence. So  profoundly  has  the  Eastern  Church  been 
influenced  by  this  new  motive,  springing  from  the 
conviction  that  the  natural  order  is  good,  and  that 
of  this  order  humanity  forms  a  constituent  part,  that 
it  rapidly  became  oblivious  of  the  literature  and  life 
of  the  Church  of  the  first  three  centuries,  as  if  it 
were  almost  a  barren  and  empty  world.  It  was  as 
if  the  Church  began  a  new  career  in  the  fourth  cen- 
tury with  Basil  of  Caesarea,  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  Cyril 
of  Alexandria.     In  the  Russian   Church  to-day,   it 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  Q^ 

was  true  only  a  few  years  ago,  there  was  no  transla- 
tion of  any  church  father  earlier  than  St.  Basil. 
Origen  has  been  dismissed  and  forgotten  as  an  evil 
dream,  even  Athanasius  is  not  so  great  a  name  as  his 
successor  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  and  no  influence  has 
been  greater  than  that  of  Cyril  of  Jerusalem. 

It  was  indeed  an  important  gain  for  the  cause  of 
truth  when  the  conviction  of  the  sacredness  of  the 
natural  order  was  achieved.  For  the  foundation  of 
revealed  theology  must  be  laid  deep  in  natural  the- 
ology. If  the  world  were  to  be  regarded  as  evil,  it 
would  not  have  been  very  long  before  faith  in  the 
goodness  of  God  would  have  perished.  Humanity  is 
too  weak  to  sustain  its  hope,  when  it  cannot  see  the 
love  of  the  eternal  Father  revealed  in  the  visible 
creation.  In  the  age,  however,  when  this  conviction 
began  to  prevail,  that  the  world  is  good  and  closely 
related  to  the  spiritual  life,  there  was  no  longer  any 
scientific  study  of  nature.  What  the  Catholic 
Church  from  the  fourth  century  knew  about  nature 
may  be  seen  in  a  little  treatise  of  St.  Basil,  called 
the  "Hexameron,"  which  was  widely  read,  and  which 
contained  a  comment  on  the  six  days  of  the  creation. 
It  may  be  contrasted  with  Origen's  allegorical  treat- 
ment of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  where  facts  are 
submerged  in  ideas,  and  where  his  obnoxious  con- 
ception of  the  body  as  a  prison-house  of  the  soul  was 
unfortunately  advanced. 


66  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 


But  now  there  were  grave  dangers  connected  with 
this  doctrine  of  the  divine  life  in  nature,  which  were 
not  slow  in  appearing.  There  was  danger  of  a 
relapse  into  the  earlier  Greek  attitude  before  Socrates, 
when  man  was  conceived  as  part  of  the  natural 
order,  when  there  was  no  consciousness  of  person- 
ality as  higher  than  nature,  —  the  blissful  uncon- 
sciousness, as  it  has  been  called,  of  that  antagonism 
between  man  and  natural  law,  out  of  which  there 
has  grown  up  in  Western  Christendom  the  higher 
civilization. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Divine  immanence  was  also  in 
danger  of  a  one-sided  perversion.  In  the  earlier 
Church  the  divine  mind  had  been  regarded  as  imma- 
nent in  the  human  reason.  But  that  conception  was 
now  yielding  to  the  idea  that  the  divine  immanence 
was  chiefly  to  be  sought  in  the  physical  or  natural 
order.  The  great  bishop  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia 
contended  for  the  divine  immanence  in  the  conscience 
as  that  faculty  of  the  soul  where  the  human  and 
divine  most  closely  intermingled;  but  his  teaching 
was  of  no  avail.  When  we  study  the  writings  of 
Gregory  of  Nyssa  or  of  Dionysius  the  Areopagite, 
whose  thought  is  saturated  with  idea  of  the  divine 
immanence,  both  of  whom  profoundly  influenced  the 
development  of  the  cultus,  it  is  an  indwelling  of  the 
Deity  in  the  physical  order  upon  which  the  stress  is 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  67 

laid  rather  than  in  the  reason  or  the  conscience. 
There  was  clanger,  therefore,  that  the  Christian  cul- 
tus  would  come  to  resemble  the  ancient  Greek  Mys- 
teries, of  which  Aristotle  had  said  "that  their  object 
was  not  to  teach  anything,  but  to  produce  an  impres- 
sion on  the  religious  feelings  and  imagination." 

The  conviction  of  the  sacredness  of  external  nature 
which  filled  the  Eastern  Church  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  fourth  century  with  a  new  enthusiasm,  gave  rise 
to  the  necessity  for  seeking  some  organic  tie  between 
the  spiritual  life  in  man  and  the  latent  potentiality 
of  matter.  The  tendency  was  now  to  connect  most 
closely  body  and  soul,  matter  and  spirit,  natural  and 
spiritual  law.  Already  the  germs  were  at  hand  for 
development  in  the  cultus,  in  the  symbol  of  water  in 
baptism,  the  chrism  in  confirmation,  the  laying  on 
of  hands  in  ordination,  and  above  all,  the  elements 
of  bread  and  wine  in  the  Eucharist.  Cyril  of  Alex- 
andria announced  the  principle  of  transmutation, 
transelementation,  or  transubstantiation,  by  which 
matter  passes  over  into  spiritual  force,  when,  in 
speaking  of  the  water  of  baptism,  he  declared  that 
"  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  the  water  perceived 
by  the  senses  is  metamorphosed  into  a  certain  divine 
and  ineffable  power.  '^  Cyril  of  Jerusalem  and  Gregory 
of  Nyssa  speak  in  a  similar  way  of  the  action  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  upon  the  elements  of  bread  and  wine,  by 
which  they  are  metamorphosed  into  the  body  and  the 
blood  of  Christ.  The  passage  of  Scripture  upon 
which  they  chiefly  rested  in  making  the  Holy  Ghost 


68  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

the  bond  of  unity  between  the  physical  and  the  spirit- 
ual, was  found  in  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  crea- 
tion, where  the  Spirit  of  God  is  said  to  have  brooded 
upon  the  face  of  the  waters.  Those  words  became 
almost  the  locus  classicus  in  defending  or  expounding 
the  sacramental  mysteries.  This  word  Mysteries,  by 
which  the  Eastern  Church  designated  the  sacraments, 
may  then  be  defined  as  a  conjunction  of  the  physical 
with  the  spiritual,  operated  by  the  action  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  In  every  Greek  liturgy  the  invocation  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  becomes  the  essential  condition  for  the 
transmutation  of  the  physical  elements  of  bread  and 
wine  into  food  for  the  immortal  soul.  I  can  only 
here  allude  to  the  circumstance  that  this  invocation 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  wanting  in  the  Roman  liturgy. 
It  has  not  merely  dropped  out ;  it  never  was  there. 
In  the  Latin  Mass,  it  is  the  enumeration  of  the  words 
of  Institution  by  the  priestly  ministrant  that  accom- 
plishes the  transmutation.  From  the  point  of  view 
of  the  Greek  Church,  if  it  were  strictly  construed, 
the  Roman  sacrament  of  the  altar  is  lacking  in  an 
element  which  is  vital  and  indispensable. 

This  nature  philosophy,  which  began  to  prevail  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  fourth  century,  found  its 
strongest  illustration  and  support  in  the  doctrine 
of  the  Incarnation,  which  was  strongly  advocated  by 
Cyril  of  Alexandria.  In  the  thought  of  Cyril,  the 
deepest  importance  attached  to  the  body  of  Christ,  as 
if  therein  were  a  common  meeting-place  of  nature 
and  spirit,  as  though  the  body  of  Christ  were  endowed 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  69 

with  spiritual  and  supernatural  power.  Hence  the 
essence  of  the  Incarnation  now  came  to  be  identi- 
fied with  the  act  of  the  miraculous  conception  of 
Christ,  as  if  God  and  nature  found  their  supreme 
point  of  conjunction  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin,  in 
order  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  transcendent 
work  of  divine  revelation.  An  act  of  such  supreme 
significance  in  itself,  whose  principle  also  covered 
the  whole  range  of  mysteriosophy,  necessarily  found 
recognition  in  the  ritual,  where  the  Virgin  Mother 
was  associated  with  its  most  solemn  moment,  —  the 
time  of  the  oblation,  —  as  if  her  commemoration 
formed  an  integral  part  in  the  right  performance  of 
the  mystery  of  the  altar.  The  earlier  view  of  the 
Incarnation,  while  accepting  the  miraculous  birth  as 
its  unique  initiation,  had  placed  the  emphasis,  how- 
ever, in  the  mind  and  teaching,  the  character  and 
the  life  of  Christ,  as  reflecting  the  inmost  life  of 
God.  But  from  the  end  of  the  fourth  century  it  was 
the  body  of  Christ,  rather  than  the  spirit  of  Christ, 
which  elicited  the  popular  reverence;  it  was  the 
sacrifice  of  the  body,  rather  than  of  the  will,  which 
constituted  the  highest  feature  of  divine  atoning 
love.  Along  with  this  estimate  of  the  body  of  Christ 
came  the  worship  also  of  the  bodies  of  the  saints  and 
martyrs,  till  in  the  adoration  of  physical  relics, 
whether  of  Christ  or  Mary  or  the  saints,  the  fervors 
of  Christian  devotion  found  their  most  intense  and 
rapt  expression. 


70  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 


VI 


I  have  now  only  a  moment  left  in  which  to  allude 
to  that  strange  mysterious  personality  who  once 
tabernacled  in  the  flesh,  as  we  must  believe,  but 
concerning  whom  we  know  little  more.  The  prepa- 
ration for  ritual  development  seemed  to  have  been 
completed  when  Dionysius  the  Areopagite  appeared, 
—  a  most  profound  religious  thinker,  a  most  beautiful 
spirit,  whose  soul  was  alive  with  love  toward  higher 
things,  and  burning  with  the  flames  of  devotion,  a 
man  without  a  country,  without  beginning  or  end  of 
days,  the  essence  of  whose  being  was  so  identified 
with  his  thought  that  all  except  his  thought  has  per- 
ished. The  first  allusion  to  his  books  was  made  in 
the  year  533,  from  which  it  is  inferred  that  his  time 
was  the  latter  part  of  the  fifth  century.  In  his  writ- 
ings, the  nature  philosophy  found  fuller  expression 
and  a  beautiful  exposition.  He  brought  together  the 
teaching  of  the  ancient  Neoplatonism,  modified  as 
it  had  been  by  Egyptian  influence  and  the  purest 
Christian  feeling.  At  the  moment  of  the  decline  of 
the  old  civilization,  he  lighted  up  the  gloom  of  the 
closing  day  with  an  unearthly  light,  which  softened 
its  dark  and  evil  memories  with  its  subdued  reflec- 
tion. He  dwelt  mainly  on  the  good  in  the  world  and 
in  man.  In  human  sinfulness  he  saw  mainly  a 
weakness  which  attracted  the  divine  compassion. 
He  looked  upon  this  world  as  some  dim  reflection, 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  71 

some  feeble  reproduction  of  a  higher  and  more  beau- 
tiful world,  anticipating  Swedenborg  in  his  doctrine 
of  a  correspondence  between  things  natural  and 
supernatural,  earthly  and  heavenly,  human  and 
divine.  He  dwelt  much  upon  angels  and  archangels, 
and  all  the  hosts  of  heaven,  constituting  them  into  a 
hierarchy  of  which  the  earthly  hierarchy,  its  minis- 
trants  and  its  sacraments,  was  but  a  continuation,  a 
ladder  as  it  were  let  down  from  heaven,  on  which 
angels  were  ascending  and  descending.  Physical 
objects  became  religious  symbols,  because  they  were 
a  divinely  given  alphabet  for  spelling  out  eternal 
realities.  A  supernatural  coloring  was  in  conse- 
quence thrown  about  the  ritual,  so  that  every  slight- 
est act  became  significant  of  some  spiritual  meaning. 
Under  his  magic  touch  a  new  impulse  was  given  to 
ritual  development,  the  extent  of  which  or  the  depth 
of  which  in  the  East  and  in  the  West  can  hardly  be 
exaggerated. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  exact  nature  of  this 
influence,  but,  at  least,  it  was  of  a  twofold  kind, 
one  aspect  of  which  neutralized  or  negatived  the 
other.  He  seems  at  times  so  to  identify  the  symbol 
with  the  thing  signified,  after  the  cruder  fashion  of 
an  earlier  age,  that  the  symbol  appears  to  become 
in  itself  an  indispensable  agency  for  man's  salvation. 
But  he  also  held  that  while  God  revealed  Himself 
through  the  external  sign,  yet  there  was  also  in  the 
symbol  a  concealment,  as  if  by  a  veil,  of  his  glory 
and  his  power. 


72  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

Dionysius  also  seems  to  have  had  an  exoteric  faith 
in  harmony  with  the  Catholic  Church,  which  was 
expressed  in  symbol  and  ritual  for  the  common 
people,  while  for  the  clergy,  the  monks  and  enlight- 
ened souls,  there  was  reserved  a  more  direct  approach 
to  God,  which  no  longer  depended  upon  material 
media.  In  the  description  which  he  has  left  us  of 
the  ritual  of  the  altar,  as  performed  in  his  time  and 
possibly  by  himself,  there  is  little  change  or  advance 
as  compared  with  the  order  of  the  Clementine  liturgy, 
beyond  the  introduction  of  the  incense :  — 

"  The  bierarcli  having  finished  his  prayer  by  the  altar, 
begins  by  incensing  it,  and  then  makes  the  chcuit  of  the 
holy  building.  Returning  to  the  altar  he  begins  to  chant 
the  psalms,  all  the  ecclesiastical  orders  joining  with  him 
in  the  sacred  psalmody.  After  this,  the  lesson  from 
Holy  Scripture  is  read  by  the  minister ;  and  when  it  is 
ended,  the  Catechumens,  together  with  the  penitents  and 
those  possessed,  are  ordered  to  depart  from  the  sacred 
enclosure,  those  only  remaining  who  are  worthy  of  the 
sight  and  the  communion  of  the  sacred  mysteries.  Of  the 
lower  ranks  of  the  ministry,  some  are  standing  near  the 
closed  doors  of  the  sanctuary,  while  others  perform  some 
functions  pertaining  to  their  order.  Those  who  hold  the 
highest  place  among  the  deacons  (leitourgoi)  assist  the 
priests  in  bringing  to  the  altar  the  sacred  bread  and  the 
cup  of  blessing,  chanting  at  the  same  time,  together  with 
the  whole  assembly,  the  universal  hymn  of  praise.  Then 
the  divine  hierarch  completes  the  sacred  prayers  and 
announces  to  all  the  peace ;  and  when  they  have  made  the 
mutual  salutation,  then  follows  the  mystic  recital  of  the 


PRIMITIVE   CHRISTIAN  LITURGIES  73 

names  inscribed  in  the  holy  diptycha.  The  hierarch  and 
priests  having  washed  their  hands,  the  hierarch  stands  at 
the  middle  of  the  holy  altar  surrounded  by  those  chosen 
from  among  the  deacons,  together  with  the  priests.  After 
the  hierarch  has  celebrated  the  marvellous  works  of  God, 
he  consecrates  the  divine  mysteries,  and  offers  to  the 
view  the  things  celebrated  beneath  the  symbols  reverently 
exhibited.  When  he  has  thus  exposed  to  view  the  gifts 
of  divine  power,  he  partakes  of  the  communion  himself 
and  then  invites  the  others;  and  when  he  has  received 
and  given  to  others  the  divine  communion,  he  closes  with 
a  sacred  act  of  thanksgiving.  But  while  the  common 
people  have  seen  the  mysteries  under  the  veil  of  the 
symbol^  he  himself  is  led^  alioays  by  the  Holy  Spirit^ 
through  spiritual  contemplation^  and  as  becomes  a 
hierarchy  to  the  intellectual  types  of  the  ceremonial  in 
their  original  purity'' 

The  chief  significance  of  this  account  lies,  as  I 
think,  in  its  closing  words,  which  are  strangely  pro- 
phetic, as  if  he  were  writing  better  than  he  knew. 
Wherever  his  influence  was  felt,  it  carried  with  it  a 
double  tendency ;  it  led  to  increased  devotion  toward 
ritual  observance,  and  it  also  relaxed  the  tie  which 
bound  the  soul  in  bondage  to  the  material  symbol. 
It  affected  Thomas  Aquinas  and  all  the  scholastic 
theologians  of  his  age,  giving  also  to  the  worship  of 
the  Latin  Church  a  charm  which  it  could  never  have 
originated.  But  it  also  inspired  a  Dante,  and  the 
mystic  reformers  who  prepared  the  way  for  the 
Reformation,   for   the  restoration  of   that  spiritual 


74  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

worship  which  is  now  the  common  heritage  and  not 
the  possession  of  a  few,  — a  worship  in  which  we  are 
taught  that  even  now  we  know  God  and  see  Him  as 
He  is,  by  means  of  faith,  while  yet  we  wait  for  a 
perfect  fruition  and  bliss  in  the  glory  to  be  revealed. 
From  this  point  of  view  the  ritual  of  the  ancient 
Church  carried  in  it  the  seeds  of  its  dissolution.  It 
was  rejected  by  the  Protestant  churches,  but  not 
until  all  that  it  contained  of  beautiful  or  good  or 
true  had  been  taken  up  by  other  agencies  with  richer 
and  more  ample  possibilities  of  development. 


Ill 

THE  GREEK  LITURGIES 

By  the  Rev.  EGBERT   C.   SMYTH,   D.D. 

Professor  of  Church  History,  Andover  Theological  Seminary, 
Andover,  Mass. 


THE   GREEK  LITURGIES 

THE  phrase  "  Greek  liturgies,"  by  which  the 
topic  on  which  I  am  asked  to  speak  to  you 
has  been  expressed,  can  be  variously  understood. 
It  may  apply  to  the  rites  of  the  Greek  or  Oriental 
Church,  including  not  merely  present  uses  but  forms 
or  types  which  have  been  earlier  observed  by  churches 
now  in  its  communion  ;  or  it  may  cover  all  liturgies 
written  in  Greek  ;  or  it  may  designate  Eastern  lit- 
urgies as  distinguished  from  Western,  inclusive  of 
those  which  exist  in  other  languages  than  the  Greek, 
in  so  far  as  these  are  regarded  as  versions  or  deriva- 
tives, or  as  marked  by  Greek  characteristics. 

The  attempt  would  be  inadmissible,  within  the 
limits  of  this  address,  to  notice  individually  the 
various  distinguishable  Greek  liturgies,  and  wholly 
impracticable  to  include  those  in  other  languages 
more  or  less  closely  connected  with  them.  I  could 
present  little  more  than  what,  in  the  present  condi- 
tion of  liturgical  investigation,  must  be  at  best  an 
imperfect  enumeration,  and  one  that  would  leave 
only  a  confused  impression.  My  aim  will  be  a  prac- 
tical one,  —  the  suggestion  of  a  method  of  study,  and 


78  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

of  some  incentives  to  it.  For  that  acquaintance  with 
the  ancient  rites  which  it  is  desirable  that  all  whose 
office  it  is  to  conduct  public  worship  should  secure, 
and  for  that  personal  benefit  which  familiarity  with 
them  may  bring  in  many  ways  and  in  rich  meas- 
ures, it  is  best  to  concentrate  attention  upon  the 
great  liturgies  —  first  upon  the  liturgy  of  St.  James, 
then  upon  that  of  St.  Mark,  then  on  the  Byzantine 
rite  (the  so-called  liturgy  of  St.  Chrysostom,  with 
that  of  St.  Basil),  in  use  to-day  in  many  languages, 
and  especially  interesting  because  of  this  relation  to 
the  religious  thought  and  life  of  so  very  great  a 
number  of  disciples  of  our  common  Lord.  If  one 
desires  to  go  further,  he  will  naturally  connect  with 
the  Syrian  and  Byzantine  rites  the  Armenian  lit- 
urgy, and  with  the  Alexandrian  the  Coptic  and 
Abyssinian.  He  will  include  also  the  Persian  or 
Nestorian  rite,  and  finally  the  Mozarabic  and  Galliean 
liturgies.  In  all  this  range  of  study  the  acquaintance 
of  which  I  am  now  speaking  will  be  with  the  accepted 
texts,  if  not  in  the  originals  (which  for  most  of  us,  in 
several  instances,  would  be,  perhaps,  impracticable),  at 
any  rate  through  such  scholarly  translations  as  are 
now  available.  This  amount  of  reading  could  be 
done  by  every  minister  in  his  preparatory  courses. 
And,  if  nothing  more  were  attempted,  important  ad- 
vantages would  be  gained.  But  something  more, 
even  from  a  purely  practical  point  of  view,  is  desir- 
able, may  I  not  say  incumbent. 

If  I  may  speak  from  my  own  experience,  the  mere 


THE   GREEK  LITURGIES  79 

reading  of  the  leading  liturgies,  those  which  are 
translated,  for  instance,  into  English  in  a  volume  of 
the  Ante-Nicene  Library,  whether  in  this  rendering 
or  in  the  original,  leaves  upon  the  mind,  with  a 
measure  of  enrichment  and  stimulus,  an  almost  pain- 
ful sense  of  a  lack  of  clear  and  definite  distinction 
and  division,  of  order,  proportion,  and  progress.  We 
find  ourselves  in  a  strange  land;  the  tones  and 
accents  we  catcli  are  unfamiliar.  All  this,  apart 
from  much  that  may  be  positively  offensive  from  its 
apparent  formalism,  or  its  tendency  to  superstition,  or 
its  affinity  with  a  magical  interpretation  of  the  spirit- 
ual and  holy  sacraments  of  our  faith,  or  from  the 
presence  of  corruptions  of  the  truth  and  simplicity  of 
the  gospel. 

For  the  best  use,  therefore,  —  and  this  because  neces- 
sary to  their  true  understanding,  —  for  the  best  use  of 
these  developed,  aggregated,  compounded,  and  changed 
liturgies,  these  composites  of  many  rites  and  many 
successions  of  religious  conception  and  life,  we 
need  pre-eminently  to  study  them  by  a  right  method. 
This  means  that  we  must  deal  with  them  as  historical 
formations.  Such  a  study  is,  in  many  respects,  at 
present  beyond  the  pursuit  of  any  but  special  litur- 
gical scholars.  It  is  not  yet  brought  up  to  the 
standards  and  requirements  of  modern  historical 
scholarship.  The  criticism  of  texts,  for  instance, — 
their  collection,  publication,  even  their  examination 
and  collation, —  demands  much  patient  labor  beyond 
that  already  expended.     Liturgies  is,  it  may  fairly  be 


80  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

said,  and  with  very  high  appreciation  of  what  has 
been  achieved, —  without  this  we  should  not  have 
even  the  urgent  pressure  of  a  sense  of  our  ignorance, 
—  Hturgics  is,  at  present,  the  least  developed  de- 
partment of  theological  science.  So  much  especially 
needs  to  be  done  in  order  to  the  understanding  of  the 
genesis  and  growth  of  liturgies,  that  a  complete  or 
thorough  scholarly  discussion  of  them  is  not  yet 
possible.  Yet  we  may  not  let  the  best  be  the  enemy 
of  the  good.  We  may,  by  a  simple  and  practicable 
method,  gain  very  much  light  upon  the  structure  of 
these  liturgies,  and  obtain  some  true  insight  into 
their  significance  and  value.  For  such  a  fruitful 
study  the  revision  of  Mr.  Hammond's  helpful  volume 
on  "  Eastern  and  Western  Liturgies,"  now  in  course 
of  publication  by  Mr.  Brightman,  of  Oxford,  through 
the  Clarendon  Press,  is  an  invaluable  aid.  The  first 
volume,  the  only  one  yet  published,  is  limited  to 
Eastern  liturgies,  and  is  confined  to  texts  and  biblio- 
graphical and  other  critical  aids.  It  may  be  hoped 
that  in  the  second  volume  the  author  will  be  able  to 
make  some  systematic  presentation  of  the  genesis  and 
literary  dependence  and  inter-relations  of  the  liturgies 
which  he  has  classified  in  groups  or  families. 

What,  as  already  stated,  I  will  now  attempt,  and 
this  only  tentatively  and  provisionally,  is  the  sugges- 
tion of  a  method  of  approach  to  the  greater  liturgies, 
serviceable  to  their  understanding  and  personal  use ; 
and  then,  so  far  as  time  permits,  the  presentation  of 
some  remarks  on  their  value. 


THE   GREEK  LITURGIES  81 

The  earliest  account  which  has  come  down  to  us  of 
an  order  of  worship  is  from  Justin  Martyr,  writing 
about  the  middle  of  the  second  century. 

I  notice  this  testimony,  and  one  which  will  follow, 
for  their  peculiar  helpfulness  to  an  understanding  of 
the  later  developments.  The  simpler  uses  guide  us 
when  we  come  to  the  more  complex.  This  advantage 
will  excuse,  I  trust,  my  recalling  what  may  already 
have  been  considered  in  the  preceding  lecture  (of 
which  I  have  seen  no  report),  or  which  may  be  other- 
wise quite  familiar. 

Justin's  account  implies  distinct  services,  or  com- 
posite parts  of  one  service.  In  one  chapter  of  his 
first  "  Apology  "  he  describes  the  baptismal  rite.  In 
anotlier,  the  usual  order  of  worship  at  the  Sunday 
gatherings.  Each  of  these  is  followed  by  the  com- 
munion. We  see  here  quite  distinctly  defined  the 
later  distinction  between  what  is  called  the  Anaphora^ 
or  Holy  Communion,  and  the  Proanaphoral  or  ante- 
cedent part.  We  have  a  suggestion  also  of  what 
appears,  from  Cyril's  "  Catecheses,"  to  have  been  the 
practice  in  Jerusalem  two  centuries  later,  namely, 
the  substitution,  under  appropriate  conditions,  of  the 
baptismal  service  for  the  ordinary  more  didactic 
observance  which  preceded  the  communion. 

The  essential  parts  of  each  order  are  substantially 
indicated.  The  baptismal  portion  is  least  described, 
noticeably  so  when  compared  with  a  representation 
half  a  century  later.  We  observe,  however,  the  two 
actions  described  in   this  subsequent  account,  —  the 

6 


82  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

ceremony  at  the  water,  or  the  administration  of  the 
rite,  and  the  bringing  of  the  baptized  into  the  church 
or  place  of  assembly,  to  join  in  the  prayers  of  the 
brotherhood  and  in  the  communion. 

Turning  our  attention  to  the  other  and  ordinary 
Sunday  service,  including  the  eucharistic,  we  find 
this  order  : 

1.  The  reading  of  Scripture,  specified  as  "  the 
memoirs  of  the  Apostles,  or  the  writings  of  the 
prophets."    This  continued  as  long  as  time  permitted. 

2.  Instruction  and  exhortation  by  the  Trpoearco^;,  or 
president. 

3.  Prayers.  This  included  intercession  for  all  the 
assembled  "brethren,"  and  "for  all  others  in  every 
place,  that  we  may  be  counted  worthy,  now  that  we 
have  learned  the  truth,  by  our  works  also  to  be  found 
good  citizens  and  keepers  of  the  commandments,  so 
that  we  may  be  saved  with  an  everlasting  salvation." 

These  prayers  are  described  as  earnest  or  intense. 
They  were  marked  with  power.  They  were  offered 
not  only  at  the  ordinary  Sunday  morning  service, 
bat  in  connection  with  the  baptismal,  and  contained 
distinct  petitions  for  those  now  to  participate  in  their 
first  communion. 

Probably  the  prayers  already  included  the  i^ofioXo- 
jrjaL^,  or  confession  of  sin,  which  became  a  perma- 
nent part  of  the  Proanaphoral. 

They  are  characterized  as  "  common  prayers." 
The  phrase  does  not  require  the  supposition  of 
written  or  wholly  fixed  formulas.     Yet  this  portion 


THE   GREEK  LITURGIES  83 

of  the  service  would  naturally  be  early  elaborated, 
though  without  uniformity.  One  of  the  richest  and 
most  instructive  portions  of  later  liturgies  is  the  so- 
called  bidding-prayers.  The  ancient  Church  was  an 
interceding  church. 

4.  The  kiss  of  peace.  "  Having  ended  the  prayers, 
we  salute  one  another  with  a  kiss."  This  "  seal 
of  prayer,"  as  Tertullian  calls  it,  this  sign  of  mu- 
tual forgiveness,  peace,  and  unity,  is  recognized  in 
all  ancient  liturgies,  Western  as  well  as  Eastern. 
Its  literal  observance  has  now  generally  disappeared. 
It  survives,  however,  in  symbolic  forms,  and  still 
more  impressively  in  the  injunctions,  exhortations, 
and  prayers  belonging  to  all  developed  or  even 
thoughtful  communion  services,  whether  written  or 
unwritten,  which  emphasize  forgiveness,  mutual 
charity,  brotherly  love,  as  the  indispensable  pre- 
requisites of  fellowship  with  Him  who  is  our  peace, 
and  its  giver,  and  who  has  left  to  his  disciples  his 
repeated,  emphasized,  and  sacred  commandment  that 
they  love  one  another. 

The  position  of  the  sign  of  this  love  in  Justin's 
account  of  the  early  order  is  noticeable.  It  belongs 
to  the  Proanaphora,  or  at  least  to  the  portion  of  the 
service  which  precedes  the  communion.  This,  sub- 
stantially, is  the  place  assigned  it  in  the  earliest 
Western  forms,  as  well  as  in  all  the  Eastern.  It  is 
so  in  the  Galilean  liturgy  and  in  the  Mozarabic,  —  the 
latter,  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  in  passing,  one  of 
the   richest   of   all.     In   the  existing  Roman   order, 


84  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

in  other  closely  related  Western  forms  of  perhaps  the 
fifth  or  subsequent  centuries,  its  position  is  later  in 
the  service,  being  a  part  of  the  portion  pertaining 
to  the  immediate  administration  of  the  sacrament. 
Even  here  it  precedes  reception.  Not  unlikely  the 
Galilean  and  Spanish  customs  reflect  a  use  which 
once  obtained  at  Rome  also,  this  church  having 
departed  in  this  respect,  as  in  others,  from  some 
tokens  of  its  earliest  catholicity. 

5.  The  presentation  of  the  elements,  bread  and 
wine  and  water,  or  wine  mixed  with  water,  the  later 
offertory,  and  also  the  Great  Entrance,  so  magnified 
and  to  some  so  magnificent  in  the  developed  Oriental 
rituals. 

6.  The  eucharistic  prayer,  —  further  described  as 
an  offering  by  the  irpoeaTw<;^  to  the  extent  of  his 
ability,  of  prayers  and  thanksgiving,  of  praise  and 
glory  to  the  Father  of  the  universe,  through  the  name 
of  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  of  thanks  that 
we  are  counted  worthy  to  receive  these  gifts. 

7.  The  response  from  the  people.  Amen. 

8.  The  distribution  by  the  deacons  to  the  communi- 
cants, not  forgetting  the  absent,  of  the  bread  and 
wine  and  water  for  which  thanks  had  been  rendered. 

9.  Communion. 

Elsewhere,  in  the  same  "  Apology,"  Justin  refers  to 
the  use  of  hymns,  and  of  solemn  prayers,  characterized 
by  a  certain  dignity  and  splendor. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  Justin  describes  a 


THE   GREEK  LITURGIES  85 

service  such  as  existed  at  Rome.  This  itself  implies, 
on  the  Irenaean  principle  of  the  necessarily  repre- 
sentative character  of  its  church,  a  wide  observance. 
Justin's  own  knowledge  of  the  East  points  in  the 
same  direction,  especially  in  connection  with  his  evi- 
dent aim  to  speak  for  Christians  in  general,  and  his 
explicit  declaration  in  one  of  his  reports  that  he  is 
describing  the  worship  of  "  all  who  live  in  cities  or  in 
the  country." 

The  traces  of  freedom  in  the  forms  of  worship  are 
evident  in  the  account.  We  have  an  outline,  not  a 
prescribed  order.  The  bishop  or  celebrant  composed, 
or  poured  out,  if  he  chose,  his  own  prayers.  What 
the  Abbe  Duchesne  happily  calls  the  liturgy  of  the 
Spirit — a  phrase  I  do  not  employ  with  the  least  inti- 
mation that  such  a  liturgy  exists  alone  in  unwritten 
forms  —  was  still  present  in  the  prayers  that  arose  as 
the  Holy  Spirit,  active  in  those  who  led  and  in  those 
who  joined  in  them,  gave  a  measure  of  expression  and 
sympathy  which  doubtless  at  times  transcended  in 
power  anything  attainable  where  all  is  prescribed.  Yet 
we  must  admit  that  there  are  other  demands  and  meth- 
ods. The  formation  of  prayers  which,  through  sus- 
tained dignity  and  fit  expression  of  the  great  common 
needs  and  of  corresponding  ministries  of  divine  conde- 
scension and  redeeming  love,  won  a  right  to  permanent 
use,  was  already  in  progress.  It  is  plainly  intimated 
in  Justin's  words  :  "  With  gratitude  to  Him  to  offer 
thanks  by  pomps  and  hymns  "  —  stately  and  solemn 
prayers  and  rhythmical   forms   of  devotion  — "  for 


86  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

our  creation,  and  all  the  means  of  health,  and  for  the 
various  qualities  of  the  different  kinds  of  things,  and 
for  the  changes  of  the  seasons,"  the  very  substance 
of  a  portion  of  the  great  liturgies.  It  appears  yet 
earlier  in  the  prayer  at  the  close  of  Clement's  Epistle. 
Had  it  not  long  before  begun,  —  in  ancient  Scriptures, 
in  the  worship  of  the  synagogues,  in  Apostolic  benedic- 
tions, in  the  prayer  taught  His  disciples  by  our  Lord  ? 
It  is  a  poor  freedom  that  cannot  use  the  best. 

With  this  general  order  or  type  of  service  derived 
from  Justin's  account  in  mind,  we  come  to  another 
document  composed  about  half  a  century  later,  —  the 
so-called  "  Canons  of  Hippolytus."  ^  For  our  subject, 
and  in  some  other  respects,  they  are  the  most  impor- 
tant recovery  of  recent  criticism.  Their  authorship 
is  not  known.  Some  suppose  that  they  proceeded 
from  an  ecclesiastical  council,  the  least  likely  sugges- 
tion. Others  attribute  them  to  Hippolytus,  whose 
name  they  bear.  Mr.  Headlam's  suggestion  is  valu- 
able, that  they  are  an  early  composition  of  this  copious 
author.     On  the  whole,  this  is  a  probable  view.     The 

1  Texte  und  Unlersuchungen  zur  Geschichte  der  AltchristUchen 
Literatur  von  Oscar  von  Gebhardt  und  Adolf  Harnack.  VI.  Band. 
Heft  4.  Die  Aeltesten  Quellen  des  Orientalischen  Kirchenrechts.  Erstes 
Buch  Die  Canones  Hippohjti  von  Dr.  Phil.  Hans  Achelis.  Leipzig, 
J.  C.  Hinrichs'sche  Buclihandlung,  1891.  Rev.  A.  C.  Headlam,  B.D., 
Fellow  of  All  Souls  College,  Oxford,  has  given  an  admirable  account 
of  these  Canons  in  "The  Guardian,"  Feb.  12,  May  6,  June  24,  1896,  to 
which  I  am  much  indebted.  I  have  followed  mostly  Mr.  H.'s  trans- 
lations, so  far  as  available.  Mr.  Brightman,  as  well  as  Mr.  H., 
appreciates  the  importance  of  these  Canons,  and  of  Dr.  Achelis's 
investigations.    See  Liturgies,  Eastern  and  Western,  vol.  i.  pp.  xix-xxiv. 


THE   GREEK  LITURGIES  87 

resort  to  an  Anonymous  is  a  confession  of  ignorance 
beyond  what  is  absolutely  required.  In  any  event 
their  date  —  not  later  than  early  in  the  third  century 
—  is  reasonably  clear,  and  we  may  assume  that  they 
are  of  Roman  origin.  What  has  been  said  of  the 
representative  significance  of  this  fact  still  holds. 
They  certainly  found  acceptance  far  away  from  Rome. 
They  probably  gave  definite  expression  to  what  existed 
widely  in  practice  or  desire,  and  then  they  helped  to 
fix  and  extend,  in  observance  and  theory,  what  had 
been  so  clearly  formulated.  They  continue  the  path- 
way of  development  opened  to  our  view  in  Justin's 
testimony,  and  which  is  broadened  by  the  Coptic  and 
the  ^thiopic  *'  Ordinances  "  and  the  "  Apostolic  Con- 
stitutions," and  the  liturgical  notices  in  Cyril's  "  Cate- 
cheses "  and  Chrysostom's  "  Homilies,"  and  which 
issues  in  the  well-known  liturgies  of  St.  James, 
St.  Mark,  St.  Chrysostom,  and  the  Syrian,  Egyptian, 
Persian,  Byzantine  rites. 

It  is  of  advantage,  for  our  present  object,  still  to 
keep  to  the  simpler  construction  and  forms  presented 
in  these  "  Canons." 

They  are  instructive  in  their  suggestion  of  the 
variety  of  the  Christian  services.  The  great  liturgies 
are  communion  services.  They  have  given  to  the 
word  "liturgy"  this  specific  sense,  the  order  of  the 
Mass  or  Eucharist.  This  celebration  was  from  the 
beginning,  doubtless,  the  centre  and  culmination  of 
the  Christian  worship.  All  liturgical  wisdom,  fervor, 
devotion,  conspired  to   its  enrichment  and  develop- 


88  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

ment.  Every  other  service  found  in  it,  or  in  con- 
nection with  it,  expression  and  power,  —  Lections, 
Homily,  Psahnody,  Charity,  even  ecclesiastical  disci- 
pline and  the  orders  of  the  clergy  and  the  forms  of 
spiritual  training  and  the  impulses  and  consecrations 
of  an  aggressive  and  sometimes  contentious  piety. 
Yet  as  we  read  the  greater  liturgies,  and  perhaps  run 
over  the  many  titles  of  others,  the  sacramental  type 
becomes  to  our  thought  not  only  predominant  but 
exclusive.  We  may  be  misled,  also,  by  the  fact  that 
so  many  liturgies  are  simply  Anaphoras  in  appear- 
ance, —  that  is,  strictly  sacramental  prayers  and  rites, 
not  realizing  that  to  all  these,  in  their  varieties, 
belongs  some  Proanaphoral  portion,  not  repeated, 
because  common  to  many.  We  need  to  learn  how 
rich  a  variety  of  services  early  appeared,  and  of  what 
practical  worth,  and  then  to  find  in  the  later  and 
technically  denominated  liturgies,  deposits  or  appro- 
priations from  these  distinguishable  forms. 

The  "  Canons  of  Hippolytus "  are  of  much  help 
here.  Through  them,  in  connection  with  other  well- 
known  sources,  we  gain  a  clearer  understanding,  not 
only  of  how  manifold  a  ministration  there  was  of 
sympathy  and  charity,  but  of  Scriptural  instruction, 
and  of  aids  and  utterances  of  devotion.  There  was  a 
regular  Sunday  Agape,  probably,  early  developed,  —  a 
second  service,  for  I  quite  agree  with  Mr.  Headlam 
in  thinking  that  the  great  eucharistic  service  was 
probably  held  in  the  morning.  There  were  also 
Agapae  for  the  poor  and  for  widows,  and  in  memory 


THE   GREEK  LITURGIES  89 

of  the  departed.  At  these  Agapae  —  held  in  private 
houses  and  on  week  days  as  well  as  on  Sundays  and 
in  the  place  of  common  assembly  —  there  was  an 
opening  prayer,  followed  by  the  breaking  of  the  loaf 
and  participation,  the  bread  of  exorcism,  the  sign 
and  pledge  of  unity,  offerings  of  thanksgiving  and 
special  intercession,  remembrance  of  the  departed, 
the  singing  or  recital  of  psalms,  probably  Scripture 
lessons  or  the  reading  of  other  writings.  Allusion 
is  made  to  preaching  by  the  bishop,  sitting,  and  it  is 
added  naively  that  "  when  he  thus  sermonizes  others 
will  have  profit,  nor  will  it  be  without  profit  for  him- 
self." Daily  services  in  the  churches  are  also  men- 
tioned, although  it  is  implied  that  they  were  not 
everywhere  established. 

Specially  interesting  to  us  is  the  recognition  of 
a  service  for  the  Word  of  God,  —  conventus  propter 
verhum  Dei^  —  a  Biblical  and  expository  lecture, 
attendance  upon  which  is  urged  upon  all.  Business 
men  are  somewhat  particularly  exhorted  to  be  present, 
that  they  may  strenuously  expel  hatred  of  an  enemy. 
Those  who  can  read,  the  educated  especially,  should 
attend.  The  Lord  is  present  in  the  place  where  His 
majesty  is  thus  brought  to  remembrance,  and  the 
Spirit  descends  upon  the  assembly  and  pours  out  His 
grace  upon  all. 

But  I  may  not  linger  upon  these  details  ;  they  are 
here  relevant  only  to  correct  any  misunderstanding 
of  the  strictly  liturgical  services,  and  also  for  the 
suggestion  of  their  contribution  to  these.     For  in- 


90  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

stance,  as  has  been  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Headlam: 
"The  funel*al  banquet  in  memory  of  the  departed, 
whether  at  the  time  of  deatli  or  on  the  anniversary 
of  the  death,  was  a  custom  taken  over  from  heathen 
surroundings  ;  to  this  was  added  the  definitely  Chris- 
tian ceremony  of  the  Eucharist ;  gradually  the  heathen 
element  was  allowed  to  fall  into  disuse,  and  the 
purely  Christian  portion  of  the  commemoration  sur- 
vived." It  survived  in  one  of  the  richest  and  most 
impressive  portions  of  the  liturgies,  the  Great  Inter- 
cession for  quick  and  dead,  in  which,  in  the  grandest 
sense,  the  Church  realized  its  spiritual  unity. 

Looking  now  more  closely  to  these  Canons  for 
what  they  reveal  of  that  order  of  service  which  under- 
lies the  Liturgies,  we  are  struck  with  the  resemblance 
to  that  described  by  Justin. 

I  pass  by  the  baptismal  portion,  and  notice  only 
the  regular  Sunday  morning  worship.  We  have  for 
its  order  :  — 

1.  The  Reading  of  Scripture. 

2.  A  Sermon. 

3.  Prayer  with  Confession  of  Sin. 

4.  The  Kiss  of  Peace. 

5.  The  Oblation. 

6.  The  Sursum  Corda^  —  known  henceforth  to  every 

liturgy :  — 

"  And  let  the  Bishop  say,  — 
"  '  The  Lord  be  with  [you]  all.' 

"  Let  the  people  reply, — 
'' '  And  with  thy  spirit.' 


THE   GREEK  LITURGIES  91 

*'  Let  him  say, — 
*'  '•  Lift  up  your  hearts.' 

"  Let  the  people  reply, — 
'*  *  We  have,  uuto  the  Lord/ 

["The  Bishop—] 
"  '  Let  us  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord.' 

"  Let  the  people  reply, — 
"  *  It  is  meet  and  right.' " 

7.  The  Eucharistic  Prayer,  —  still  free. 

8.  The  Blessing  of  the  Oil  and  First-fruits. 

9.  The  Communion. 

10.  When  baptism  had  preceded,  the  tasting  of  milk 
and  honey.  The  presbyters,  or,  in  their  absence, 
the  deacons,  are  instructed  at  the  Communion 
to  "bear  cups  of  milk  and  honey,  that  they  may 
teach  those  who  communicate  that  they  are  born 
again  as  little  children,  because  such  partake  of 
milk  and  honey."  They  are  received  after  the 
bread  and  cup,  "  in  memory  of  the  life  to  come, 
and  of  the  sweetness  of  good  things  which  are 
the  desire  of  him  who  doth  not  return  to  bitter- 
ness. .  .  .  Now,  indeed,  they  are  made  perfect 
Christians,  who  enjoy  the  body  of  Christ  and  ad- 
vance in  wisdom,  that  they  may  adorn  their  lives 
\_mores']  with  virtues,  not  only  in  their  own  pres- 
ence, but  also  before  all  nations,  who,  not  with- 
out envy,  will  admire  the  progress  of  those  who 
glory  that  their  lives  [snores']  are  higher  and  more 
excellent  than  the  lives  [inores]  of  other  men." 

The  use  of  the  formula   of  benediction  appears  ; 
also,  as  the  text  stands,  of  the  Gloria^  in  the  form. 


92  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

"  through  Whom  to  Thee  be  glory,  with  Him  and 
the  Holy  Spirit,  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen." 

The  administration  of  the  sacrament  is  thus  ap- 
pointed :  The  deacon  having  brought  in  the  sacred 
elements,  the  bishop  with  the  presbyters  lays  his 
hand  upon  them,  and  then,  standing  at  the  table, 
communicates  the  people.  "  Let  him  give  them  of  the 
body  of  Christ,  saying, '  This  is  the  body  of  Christ.' 
But  let  them  say, '  Amen.'  And  let  those  to  whom 
he  gives  the  cup,  saying, '  This  is  the  blood  of  Christ,' 
say,  'Amen.' " 

Here  is  a  basis  of  the  later  sacramentarianism,  yet 
also  a  corrective  of  its  superstition.  The  language  is 
still  Biblical.  One  should  bring  it  to  the  reading 
of  the  later  formulas  and  of  the  prayers  connected 
with  it. 

The  leading  divisions  of  the  later  liturgies  are 
already  represented,  with  one  important  exception, 
—  the  Invocation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  oblation 
and  those  who  partake  of  it.  This  becomes  a  marked 
feature  of  tlie  developed  liturgies,  and  also  evinces  an 
important  difference  between  the  Eastern  conception 
and  the  Y/estern  of  the  relation  of  the  officiating  priest 
to  the  change,  which,  tliough  not  in  the  same  way, 
the  Greek  Church  as  well  as  the  Roman  supposes  to 
take  place  in  the  elements. 

There  is,  however,  some  reason  to  suppose  that  the 
service  represented  in  the  "  Canons  of  Hippolytus " 
contained  other  liturgical  forms  than  those  that  now 
appear.     In  the  "  ^thiopic  Church  Ordinances,"  as 


THE   GREEK  LITURGIES  93 

in  the  later  Clementine  liturgy  and  in  the  liturgy 
known  to  St.  Chrj^sostom,  we  find  the  Invocation.  It  is 
in  a  form  so  free  from  elaboration,  so  simple  and  brief, 
as  to  suggest  antiquity.  The  ^thiopic  liturgy  may 
in  this  respect  as  in  others  depend  on  the  ''  Canons." 
In  any  event  it  is  likely  that  the  Invocation  early  be- 
came a  part  of  the  eucharistic  service,  whether  em- 
bodied in  a  written  prayer  or  left  to  be  formulated  by 
the  celebrant.  It  is  precisely  a  portion  of  the  service 
most  likely  to  become  substantially  fixed  as  early  as 
its  conception  was  accepted.  The  form  in  which  it 
appears  matches,  both  in  definiteness  and  latitude,  the 
stage  of  thought  we  have  reason  to  suppose  had  been 
reached  as  early  as  the  close  of  the  second  century. 

I  will  read  the  prayer  from  the  Anaphora  of  the 
"  ^thiopic  Church  Ordinances ; "  it  follows  the  recital 
of  the  words  of  institution  :  "  Remembering  therefore 
His  death  and  His  resurrection,  we  offer  Thee  this 
bread  and  cup,  giving  thanks  unto  Thee  for  that  Thou 
hast  made  us  meet  to  stand  before  Thee  and  do  Thee 
priestly  service.  We  beseech  Thee  that  Thou  wouldest 
send  thine  Holy  Spirit  on  the  oblation  of  this  church  ; 
give  it  together  unto  all  them  that  partake  [for]  sanc- 
tification  and  for  fulfilling  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  for 
confirming  true  faith,  that  they  may  laud  and  praise 
Thee  in  thy  Son  Jesus  Christ,  through  whom  to  Thee 
be  glory  and  dominion  in  the  holy  church  both  now 
and  ever,  and  world  without  end,  Amen."  ^ 

1  Briglitman,  Liturgies,  Eastern  and  Western,  vol.  i.  p.  190.  Cf. 
Achelis,  Die  Canones  Ilippol/jti,  pp.  54,  55. 


94  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

The  only  rite  of  the  Church  here  expressed  is  that 
given  in  the  Roman  Symbol,  whose  existence  scholars 
have  carried  back  into  the  first  half  of  the  second 
century. 

It  is  of  no  little  interest  to  compare  this  form 
with  that  in  the  present  Greek  liturgy,  that  of  St. 
Chrysostom. 

But  I  may  not  pursue  this  special  doctrinal  line, 
nor,  which  would  be  more  relevant,  dwell  upon  the 
order  which  appears  in  this  important  connecting 
link  between  the  earliest  and  the  later  liturgies. 
Bunsen,  not  unreasonably  attracted  by  its  purity  and 
simplicity,  refers  it  to  the  second  century.  A  soberer 
judgment,  founded  on  more  critical  study,  puts  it  in  the 
line  of  sources  between  the  "  Canons  "  and  the  Clem- 
entine liturgy,  in  the  eighth  book  of  the  "  Apostolic 
Constitutions."  It  deserves  the  special  attention  of 
all  who  would  study  in  the  way  I  am  commending 
the  current  texts  of  the  Greek  liturgies,  especially 
that  now  in  use  throughout  the  Greek  Church,  the 
so-called  liturgy  of  St.  Chrysostom. 

The  Clementine  liturgy  just  referred  to  has  long 
attracted  attention.  It  is  a  private  composition  ;  so 
far  as  known,  it  never  was  the  accepted  order  of  any 
church.  It  helps  fill  out  our  conception  of  the  gen- 
eral order  of  service  in  the  last  half  of  the  fourtli 
century,  especially  at  Antioch,  and  may  not  be 
neglected.  Its  forms  of  prayer,  however,  are  far  in- 
ferior, even  apart  from  doctrinal  considerations,  to 
those  of  the  public  liturgies.     For  the  ends  and  uses 


THE    GREEK  LITURGIES  95 

1  now  have  especially  in  mind,  —  for  liturgical  train- 
ing and  personal  edification,  —  one  may  pass  at  once 
to  the  current  rites. 

What  can  I  say  of  these  in  the  few  moments  that 
remain  ? 

First  of  all,  their  expansion.  Every  part  is  greatly 
elaborated.  Antiplional  singing,  a  large  use  of  psalms 
and  hymns,  has  enriched  the  worship.  Most  of  all, 
the  conception  has  been  developed  of  a  service  which 
shall  represent,  even  to  ear  and  eye,  not  only  the 
action  of  the  original  institution,  and  the  sacrificial 
import  of  the  Eucharist,  with  all  its  elements  of  pas- 
sion, triumph,  heavenly  sustenance,  impartation  and 
reception  of  eternal  life,  but,  including  the  preparatory 
services,  the  history  of  Redemption  from  the  creation 
of  light  to  the  Incarnation,  the  holy  life  of  our  Lord 
from  the  nativity  to  the  public  ministry,  his  teaching 
and  works,  the  passion,  death,  burial,  resurrection,  and 
ascension,  the  descent  of  the  Spirit  and  the  eternal 
reign,  —  a  symbolic,  scenic,  and  even  dramatic  repre- 
sentation of  all  that  the  Church  understands  to  be 
given  to  it  in  that  life,  and  an  appropriate  utterance 
of  its  peace  and  joy,  its  gratitude  and  adoring  praise, 
in  view  of  such  deliverance  and  triumph. 

This  is  the  informing  idea  of  the  whole  service, 
giving  relation  and  unity  to  its  several  parts,  from  the 
vespers  of  Saturday,  through  matins,  to  the  eucha- 
ristic  climax.  All  that  is  splendid  in  vestments  and 
processions,  suggestive  in  ikons  or  images,  impres- 
sive in  variety  of   scenes    and    actions,  of   postures 


96  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

and  participators,  all  that  can  be  gained  by  musical 
responses,  and  flowing  accompaniments  to  low  and 
modulated  prayers,  or  melodious  settings  of  the  high- 
est expressions  of  a  worship  which  embraces  and 
emphasizes  all  the  notes  of  a  universal  peace  and 
fellowship  and  victory,  combine  to  impress  the  mean- 
ing of  the  Incarnation  and  the  glory  of  the  Cross, 
and  of  the  Triune  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow, 
and  who  is  both  now  and  through  eternal  ages  to  be 
adored. 

Much  may  be  said  in  criticism,  not  only  of  special 
parts,  but  of  the  conception  as  a  whole,  —  much 
certainly  from  a  doctrinal  and  Biblical  point  of  view, 
much  no  less  from  the  only  true  liturgical  point  of 
view,  the  ultimate  test,  ministry  to  a  worship  in  spirit 
and  in  truth.     Liturgy  is  ministry. 

But  I  pass  all  this  by  ;  we  shall  inevitably  bring 
to  these  liturgies  our  Western  and  Protestant  pre- 
conceptions. We  are  not  likely  to  forego  our  in- 
herited gains  in  the  apprehension  of  true  worship. 
Perhaps  we  are  more  in  danger  of  not  appreciating 
enough  the  value  of  symbolism,  the  legitimate  aid  of 
form  and  even  ceremony.  But,  waiving  all  this, 
what  have  these  liturgies  to  give  us  to  help  us  in  our 
own  work,  in  the  line  of  our  own  best  traditions,  in 
our  ministry  of  public  prayer  ? 

Something  in  the  way  of  diction.  Not  so  much, 
indeed,  as  the  Western  liturgies,  which  alone  have 
collects  as  we  have  come  to  understand  the  term, 
and  whose  simple  and  even  severe  expression  con- 


THE   GREEK  LITURGIES  97 

stitutes  a  discipline  never  so  much  needed  or  so 
useful  as  for  those  who,  in  the  freedom  of  our  ser- 
vices, are  exposed  to  the  dangers  of  diffuseness.  Yet 
something,  —  examples,  illustrations  not  unneeded,  of 
how  invocations,  reverential  titles,  representations  of 
divine  perfections,  all  in  close  and  fitting  connection 
with  specific  supplications,  may  be  varied,  amplified, 
made  conducive  to  supplication,  intercession,  adora- 
tion. 

Not  a  little  in  the  suggestion  of  ways  by  which  a 
certain  brightness  and  fitting  splendor  can  shine 
forth  in  the  Church's  worship  of  Him  who  is  the 
Light  of  the  world,  and  of  all  life,  and  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness. 

Much,  in  helping  to  a  realization  of  what  forms  of 
thought  are  at  the  minister's  command  to  bring  the 
realities  of  faith  to  the  multitudes  of  men  wearied 
with  the  pressure  of  secular  cares,  tempted  by  the  suc- 
cesses as  by  the  failures  of  life  to  a  sickening  and 
palsying  sense  of  its  vanity,  men  needing  sorely 
the  refreshments  and  solaces  of  a  devotion  that  reflects 
the  peace  and  joy  of  those  who  have  overcome.  This 
note  of  triumph  !  It  is  the  strongest  anywhere  struck, 
as  you  find  it  in  these  old  Greek  liturgies.  Catch  it 
there,  in  its  beauty  and  strength,  and  you  can  never 
lose  it. 

Connected  with  this  is  the  objective  character  and 
quality  of  the  worship.  Grant  that  it  is  not  so  deep  as 
the  Western  in  its  fundamental  tone.  Admit  the 
need  of  something  that  more  adequately  expresses  the 

7 


98  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

guilt  of  sill  and  its  remedy.  Recognize  all  the  need 
that  comes  in  with  modern  introspection  and  sub- 
jectivity, with  changed  standards  and  tests  of  historic 
truth,  with  clearer  perceptions  of  the  method  of 
divine  revelation,  with  the  "  pale  cast  of  thought  '* 
or  new  outlooks  in  science  or  visions  in  philoso- 
phy. Still,  after  all,  the  early  Church  was  right  in 
introducing  into  its  baptismal  confessions  those  clear, 
evident,  abiding  revelations  which  centre  in  the  mani- 
festation of  God  in  the  person  of  His  Son,  those 
events  which  are  at  once  eternal  truths  and  facts  of 
history,  idea  and  fact  in  tlie  highest  mode  and  form 
of  being  and  life,  a  perfect  and  perfected  Personality, 
human  and  divine,  the  Son  who  reveals  the  Father, 
and  through  whom  the  Father  sends  the  Spirit,  who 
is  their  bond  of  union  and  from  whom  springs  the 
holy  Church,  whose  office  it  is  to  proclaim  and  declare 
the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  who  is  the  pledge  and 
power  of  the  risen  and  eternal  life.  Ever  to  these 
springs  must  faith  repair.  Ever  must  such  facts  of 
being  and  life,  those  fundamental  verities  which  are 
revelations  of  a  historic  Person  and  through  Him  of 
the  personality  of  the  one  only  God,  be  in  the  fore- 
front of  the  Church's  confession  of  its  faith,  ever 
no  less  the  substance  of  worship,  its  inspiration, 
and  the  sign  and  seal  of  its  purity  and  power. 

From  this  point  of  view  even  the  sacramentarian- 
ism  of  the  liturgies  may  have,  not  merely  in  a 
negative  way,  or  as  a  warning,  a  great  lesson  for  us, 
but  positively  and  inspiringly.     Through  the  method 


THE   GREEK  LITURGIES  99 

of  study  I  have  endeavored  to  trace  we  can  see 
where  and  liow  error  came  in,  and  the  pathway  of  a 
tremendous  exaggeration  of  early  misconceptions  was 
entered  on  and  pursued.  But  is  there  not  some 
danger  that  in  the  recoil  from  sacerdotalism,  and 
all  that  interpretation  and  use  of  sacraments  which 
is  a  part  of  it  or  affiliated  with  it,  we  may  underesti- 
mate the  true  place,  in  our  worship,  of  the  communion 
service,  and  beyond  this  of  that  conception  and 
appreciation  of  the  gospel  which  flows  from  a  true 
and  spiritual  discernment  of  the  Lord's  body  and  of 
His  blood,  and  of  what  is  symbolized  and  pledged  to 
us  in  this  sacrament,  and  which  should  give  a  key 
and  note  to  all  our  praise  ? 

I  may  not  dwell  upon  this,  yet  may  be  pardoned 
for  expressing  the  thought  that  we  are  not  only 
inheritors  of  our  great  Puritan  traditions,  but  heirs 
of  the  Christian  centuries.  Lotze  has  recognized 
that  all  progress  is  attended  Avith  some  loss.  It 
belongs,  however,  to  the  imperfection  of  the  process, 
even  thougli  practically  necessary  or  inevitable,  if  any 
true  value  is  lost.  History,  from  the  religious  point 
of  view,  is  the  pathway  of  prophecy,  the  movement  of 
a  divine  purpose  ;  it  is  fulfilment.  When  we  think 
and  see  how  early  to  appear,  how  perpetual,  is  the 
sacramental  aspect  or  appreciation  of  Christianity, 
how  widespread  is  its  influence  to-day,  how  realized 
it  is  in  saintly  lives,  how  manifested  and  evident 
where  superstition  and  formalism  are  not  among  its 
elements  or  characteristics,  how  sustaining  to  piety 


100  CmilSTIAN  WORSHIP 

and  associated  with  and  ministrant  to  types  of  Chris- 
tian character,  forms  and  forces  of  life,  in  which  what- 
ever is  pure,  lowly,  reverential,  sacrificial,  beneficent, 
finds  an  expression  no  less  energetic  and  mighty 
than  serene  and  beautiful,  we  cannot  help  raising  the 
question,  whether,  with  the  retention  of  our  antago- 
nism to  mere  externalism  or  to  every  substitution  of 
ceremony  and  form  for  simplicity  and  truth  and 
spirituaiity,  we  have  not  something  to  recover,  as 
well  as  to  retain  and  hold,  and  that  to  this  end  a 
thorough  understanding  and  appreciation  of  the  great 
liturgies,  which  are  sacramental  services,  may  be  of 
inestimable  advantage. 

The  life  of  an  eminent  scholar  and  most  devout 
Christian  has  but  recently  closed.  From  his  biogra- 
phy I  take  these  words.  They  are  a  part  of  a  letter 
from  him  to  a  clergyman  who  had  questioned  him 
about  the  meaning  of  a  "call"  to  the  Christian  min- 
istry. The  whole  letter  is  well  worthy  of  the  atten- 
tion of  all  who  are  preparing  for  this  sacred  office. 
It  goes  to  the  heart  of  a  Christian  minister's  dis- 
tinctive service,  the  clergyman's  "  primary  work." 
"  He  must  have  a  desire  to  set  forth  the  glory  of  God 
simply  and  directly,  in  those  forms  which  show  it 
forth  most  nakedly.  He  must  not  only  act  it  out  but 
speak  of  it,  make  men  know  it  and  consciously  enter 
into  it.  None  of  the  phenomena  of  life  are  primarily 
his  province,  but  the  glory  and  the  love  which  under- 
lie them  all.  He  is  not  simply  an  officer  or  servant 
of  God  or  workman  of  God,  but  His  ambassador  and 


THE   GREEK  LITURGIES  101 

herald  to  tell  men  about  God  Himself.  He  must  bring 
distinctly  before  men  the  reality  of  the  heaven  of  which 
the  earth  and  all  that  it  contains  is  but  the  symbol 
and  vesture.  And,  since  all  human  teaching  is  but 
the  purging  of  the  ear  to  hear  God's  teaching,  and 
since  the  whole  man,  and  not  certain  faculties  only, 
must  enter  into  the  divine  presence,  iha  sacraments 
must  be  the  centre  and  crown  (I  don't  mean  central 
subject)  of  his  teaching,  for  there  the  real  heights 
and  depths  of  heaven  are  most  fully  revealed,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  commonest  acts  and  things  of  earth 
are  most  closely  and  clearly  connected  witli  the  highest 
heaven."  ^ 

This,  as  I  understand  it,  is  the  vital  truth  which 
lias  given  what  we  call  sacramentarianism  its  per- 
petuity. We  may  see  in  the  Eastern  liturgies  some- 
thing of  the  perversions  and  abuses  of  this  truth. 
We  may  discern,  also,  its  presence  and  power.  This 
—  this  beyond  all  else  —  is  the  reason  for  their  study, 
a  study  which  penetrates  to  their  secret,  a  use  of  them 
which  appropriates  their  unwasted  values,  which 
brings  the  soul  under  the  influence  of  their  tranquil 
beauty,  and  into  the  peace  which  flows  through  them 
like  a  river  of  God,  and  to  the  fountains  of  strength 
and  life. 

1  Life  and  Letters  o/Fenton  J.  A.  Hort,  vol.  i.  pp.  279,  280. 


102  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 


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Eastern  and  Western,  pp.  Ixxvii-lxxx.  For  Eastern  liturgies,  see 
the  "  description  of  materials  "  in  Brightman's  Liturgies,  Eastern  and 
Western,  vol.  i.,  Eastern  Liturgies,  Introduction,  and  subsequent  special 
Introductions. 


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ecclesiae  universae  .  .  .  in  quo  continentur  libri  ritriales,  missales,  ponti- 
ficaJes,  officia,  diptycha,  etc.,  ecclesiarum  Occidentis  et  Orientis,  Rom., 
1749-66,  13  vols.  H.  A.  Daniel:  Codex  Liturgicus  Ecclesiae  Universae 
in  Epitomen  lledactus,  Lips.,  1847-1853. 

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the  Principal  Liturgies  of  the  Church,  Edited,  with  Introductions  and 
Appendices,  .  .  ,  on  the  Basis  of  the  Former  Work  by  C.  E.  Ham- 
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Reprint  of  the  Texts,  either  original  or  translated,  of  the  most  representa- 
tive Liturgies  of  the  Church,  from  various  Sources,  Edited,  with  Introduc- 
tion, Notes,  and  a  Liturgical  Glossary,  Oxford,  1878.  C.  A.  Swainson 
The  Greek  Liturgies,  chiefly  from  original  authorities.  .  .  .  With  an 
Appendix  containing  the  Coptic  Ordinary  Canon  of  the  Mass  from  two 
manuscripts  in  the  British  Museum.  Edited  and  translated  by  Dr.  C. 
Bezold,  London,  1884.  J.  M.  Neale :  Tetralogia  Liturgica:  sive  S. 
Chrysostomi,  S.  Jacobi,  S.  Marci  divinae  Missae,  quibus  accedit  Ordo 
Mozarabicus,  London,  1849;  The  Liturgies  of  S.  Mark,  S.James,  S. 
Chrysostom,  S.  Basil  [in  Greek  and  in  English],  London,  1868.  J.  Goar : 
Evxo\6yiov,  sive  Rituale  Graecorum  Complectens  Ritus  et  Ordines  divinae 
Lilurgiae,  Officiorum,  Sacramentorum,  Consecrationum,  Benedictionum, 
Funerum,  Orationum,  ^c.  .  .  .  Juxta  Usum  Orientalis  Ecclesialel. 
Cum  selectis  Bibliothecae  Regiae,  Barberinae,  Cryptae-Ferratae,  Sancti 
Marci  Florentini,  Tillianae,  Allatianae,  Coresianae,  et  aliis  probatis 
mm.  ss.  et  editis  exemplaribus  collatum.  Interpretatione  Latina,  nee  non 
mixobarbararum  vocum  brevi  Glossario,  aeneis  figuris,  et  observationibus 
ex  antiquis  PP.,  et  maxime  Graecorum  Theologorum  exposition ibus, 
Ulustratum  [the  Byzantine  Rite],  Paris,  1647  (Venice,  1740).     Guliel. 


THE   GREEK  LITURGIES  103 

Morelius  :  Aetrovpyiai  tS>v  ayiwv  irar^pwu  ^laKitfiov  rov  diroa-TSXov  /col 
ade\(podeov,  BaaiXeiov  rov  /xeyd\ov,  'laxiupov  rod  xP^'^^aTSfiov.  Paris 
1560.  [Textus  receptus.]  W.  Trollope :  'H  rod  ayiov  'laKdi^ov 
AeiTovpyla.  The  Greek  Liturgy  of  St.  James,  Edited  ivith  an  English 
Introduction  and  Notes;  together  tvith  a  Latin  version  of  the  Syrian 
copy,  and  the  Greek  text  restored  to  its  original  purity  and  accompanied 
by  a  literal  English  translation,  Edinburgh,  1847.  Amb.  Drouard  : 
'H  6e7a  \€iTovpyia  rov  ayiov  diroaToKov  Ka\  evayye\iaTov  MdpKov 
HadT]Tov  Tov  ayiov  Uerpov.  .  .  .  Paris,  1883  [Textus  receptus.  Editor, 
Jo.  a  S.  Andrea].  At  6e7ai  Kurovpyiai  rod  ayiov  'Iccdj^vov  rov 
Xpvaoarojxov,  Ba(n\eiov  rod  fjieydkov  Ka\  tj  ruv  irpo-qyiaaixivuv.  .  .  . 
Rome,  1526.  ["  This  is  the  editio  princeps  of  these  liturgies,  published 
with  the  license  of  Clement  VII.,  and,  according  to  the  colophon, 
edited  with  the  co-operation  of  the  Archbishop  of  Cyprus  and  of 
Ehodes.  Beyond  this  the  source  of  its  text  is  unknown.  The  text 
is  reprinted  in  SAvaiuson,  pp.  101-187  (bottom)."  See  Brightman, 
p.  Ixxxiii.]  J.  N.  W.  B.  Robertson :  The  Divine  Liturgies  of  our  Fathers 
among  the  Saints,  John  Chrysostom  and  Basil  the  Great,  with  that  of 
the  Presanctified,  Preceded  by  the  Ilesperinos  and  the  Orthros,  London, 
1894  [Greek  and  English].  C.  C.  J.  Bunsen  :  Reliquiae  Liturgicae  [In 
Analecta  Ante-Nicacna,  vol,  iii.  pp.  67-300,  London,  1854.  Contains 
Liturgy  of  S.  Mark,  as  the  editor  supposes  it  to  have  been  observed  in 
the  time  of  Origen,  pp.  107-127  ;  that  of  S.  James  restored,  as  nearly 
as  possible,  to  the  form  supposed  to  have  been  observed  in  the  fourth 
century,  pp.  107-127  ;  and  the  Liturgies  of  SS.  Basil  and  Chrysostom, 
according  to  the  Barberiui  Codex,  pp.  195-236.  See,  also,  Ibid. 
Hippolytns  and  his  Age,  vol,  iv.  pp.  233-434,  London,  1852].  E. 
Renaudot:  Liturgiarum  Orientalium  Co//ect«o,  Paris,  1716  [Frankfort, 
1847]. 


II.      INTRODUCTIONS,    DISSERTATIONS,    ENGLISH    TRANSLATIONS,    AND 
OTHER    HELPS    IN    STUDY. 

[See  previous  titles.  For  Latin,  German,  and  other  versions,  see 
Brightman,  pp.  xlviii,  Ixiii,  Ixxvii-lxxix,  Ixxxi-lxxxiii.]  J,  M. 
Neale  :  A  History  of  the  Holy  Eastern  Church.  Part  I.  General  Intro- 
duction, vols,  i.,  ii.,  London,  1850  [contains,  with  other  information,  a 
full  account  of  the  Arrangement  and  details  of  an  Eastern  Church,  and 
of  the  Vestments;  Translation  and  parallel  arrangement  of  the 
proanaphoral  portion  of  S.  Chrysostom,  Copto- Jacobite  S.  Basil,  the 
Armeno- Gregorian  rite,  the  Mozarabic  rite,  and  of  the  anaphorae  of  S. 


104  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

Chrjjsostom,  S.  Basil,  S.  James,  S.  Mark,  Coj do- Jacobite  S.  Basil, 
Lesser  S.  James,  Theodore  the  Interpreter,  the  Armeno- Gref/orian  rite, 
the  Mozarabic  rite ;  Disquisitions  on  the  foregoing  proanaphorae  and 
anaphorae ;  The  Liturgy  of  the  Presanclifed],  J.  M.  Neale  and  R.  F. 
Littledale  :  The  Liturgies  of  SS.  Mark,  James,  Clement,  Chrysostom, 
and  Basil,  and  the  Church  of  Malabar.  Translated  with  Introduction 
and  Appendices.  London,  1868  [Revised  1869,  and  often  reprinted]. 
Anle-Nicene  Christian  Library,  vol.  xxiv.  Early  Liturgies  and  Other 
Documents,  Edinburgh,  1872  [contains  the  Liturgies  of  S.  James,  S. 
Mark,  and  the  Blessed  Apostles  ( Adaeus  and  Maris)].  Same,  American 
Reprint,  vol  vii.,  Buffalo,  1886.  T.  Brett:  A  Collection  of  the  Princi- 
pal Liturgies  used  in  the  Christian  Church  in  the  celebration  of  the  Holy 
Eucharist,  particidarly  the  Ancient,  viz..  The  Clementine,  .  .  .  The  Litur- 
gies of  St.  .lames,  St.  Mark,  St.  Chrysostom,  St.  Basil,  ^x.  Translated 
into  English  by  several  hands.  With  a  Dissertation  upon  them,  showing 
their  usefulness  and  authority,  and  pointing  out  their  several  corruptions 
and  interpolations,  London,  1838.  C.  E.  Hammond,  supra.  Preface  and 
Introduction.  W.  Smith  and  S.  Cheetham :  A  Dictionary  of  Christian 
Antiquities,  London,  vol.  i.,  1875,  ii.,  1880  :  Liturgical  Articles.  C.  W. 
Bennett :  Christian  Archceology  [vol.  iv.  of  Crooks  &  Hurst :  Library 
of  Biblical  and  Theological  Literature'],  New  York,  1888.  W.  Palmer: 
Origines  Liturgicae,  with  a  Dissertation  on  Primitive  Liturgies,  2  vols., 
Loudon,  1832  [Later  Editions].  P.  Freeman:  The  Principles  of 
Divine  Service,  Oxford  and  London,  2  vols.  1855-1857  [Cheaper  Re- 
issue, 1871-1873].  P.  Schaff:  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  vol. 
iii.  pp.  517-531,  New  York,  1884.  F.  Probst :  Liturgie  der  drei  ersten 
chrisdichen  Jahrhunderten,  Tiibingen,  1870.  Id. :  Liturgie  des  vier- 
ten  Jahrhunderts  und  deren  Reform,  Miinster  i.  W.  1893.  H.A. 
Koestlin  :  Geschichte  des  Christlichen  Gottesdienstes,  ein  Handbuch  fur 
Vorlesungen  und  Ubungen  im  Seminar,  Freiburg  i.  B.  1887.  J.  W. 
Richard,  F.  V.  N.  Painter  :  Christian  Worship  :  Its  Principles  and  Forms, 
Philadelphia,  1892.  L.Duchesne:  Origines  du  Culte  Chretien.  J^tude 
sur  la  Liturgie  Latine  avant  Charlemagne,  Paris,  1889.  H.  C  Romanoff  : 
Sketches  of  the  Greco-Russian  Church.  The  Divine  Liturgy  of  St. 
John  Chrysostom,  London,  Oxford,  and  Cambridge,  1871.  Lechmere, 
J.  Gennadius :  Synopsis  or  a  Synoptical  Collection  of  the  Daily  Prayers, 
the  Liturgy,  and  Principal  Offices  of  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church  of  the 
East.  Translated,  with  Assistance,  from  the  Original,  and  Edited  by 
Katharine  Lady  Lechmere.  With  an  Introduction  by  J.  Gennadius, 
Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  H.  M.  the  King 
of  the  Hellenes  at  the  Court  of  St.  James's,  London. 


IV 

THE  ROMAN  LITURGIES 

By  the  Rev.  CHARLES   C.  TIFFANY,  D.D. 

Archdeacon  of  New  York  City 


THE  ROMAN  LITURGIES 

I  AM,  I  believe,  the  only  lecturer  in  this  course  on 
Christian  Worship  who  is  not  an  adherent  of  the 
liturgy  he  expounds.  My  desire  is,  and  my  attempt  shall 
be,  to  be  as  accurate  and  fair  as  though  I  were.  I  am 
quite  sure  I  should  not  have  been  chosen  to  this  task 
had  not  those  appointing  it  been  convinced  that  I 
should  be  thus  impartial  and  charitable.  There  is,  of 
course,  an  infelicity  in  not  being  an  advocate  as  well 
as  an  expounder  of  the  subject  assigned  me.  Points 
may  be  inadvertently  overlooked  which  a  loving  eye 
would  detect,  and  a  bias  may  be  manifest  unsuspected 
by  the  writer.  In  studying  the  subject,  therefore, 
I  have  chiefly  confined  myself  to  Roman  Catholic 
authorities.^ 

1  The  Decrees  and  Catechism  of  the  Council  of  Trent;  The  Mis- 
sale  Romanum  ex  Decreto  S.  S.  Concilii  Tridentini  Restitutum  itself; 
Prochiron,  Vuh/o  Rationale  Divinorum  officiorum,  Gulielnio  Durando, 
1551  ;  Bellarmine,  de  Sacramento  Eucharistioi,  especially  the  5th  Book 
"  de  Missa ;  "  the  Ilierurr/ia,  or  the  ITvhj  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  by  Dan- 
iel Rock,  D.D. ;  Martene,  de  Antiquis  Ecclesim  Ritibus ;  Morinus, 
de  Sacris  Ecclesioi  ordinibus ;  and  Muratori  in  his  collection  of  the 
Earlier  Missals, — the  Leonine,  Gelasian,  Grefi^orian,  and  that  of  the 
Apostolic  Constitutions,  —  have  all  been  inspected  at  first  hand,  as 


108  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

The  sources  from  which  I  have  drawn  are  almost 
exclusively  devoted  to  the  doctrine  and  delineation  of 
the  Mass,  a  term  applied  from  very  early  times  to  the 
service  of  the  Eucharist  or  Lord's  Supper,  as  well  as 
to  other  services  of  the  Church,  and  derived,  first  from 
the  words  "  ite^  missa  est,^^  used  to  dismiss  the  cate- 
chumens and  other  non-communicants  before  the  con- 
secration of  the  elements  of  bread  and  wine ;  and 
afterwards,  to  dismiss  the  communicants  when  the 
service  of  communion  was  over.  I  must  confine  my- 
self, also,  to  the  Roman  Liturgy  in  the  strict  and 
restricted  meaning  of  the  word,  —  that  is,  as  the  Eu- 
charistic  service ;  because  the  time  assigned  me  would 
be  insufficient  even  to  enumerate  and  superficially 
describe  the  great  variety  of  services  which  the  Ro- 
man Church  has  provided  for  the  use  of  her  children. 
Moreover,  the  Mass  dominates  all  these  other  services. 
The  service  of  Benediction  is  the  blessing  of  the  peo- 
ple with  the  Consecrated  Wafer  exposed  in  the  Mon- 
strance and  held  before  the  congregation  by  the  priest, 
as  he  waves  it  in  the  sign  of  the  cross  above  their 
bowed  heads  and  prostrate  bodies.  Vespers  are  sung 
before  the  altar  whereon  the  reserved  Sacrament  is 
kept,  surrounded  and  confronted  with  the  mystic  glow 
of  tapers.     Matins,  lauds,  prime,  tierce,  compline, — 

well  as  what  Cardinal  Newman  in  his  various  writings  has  stated. 
I  have  used  also,  of  non-Roman  writers  :  Maskele,  Monumenta  RituaUa 
Ecdesice  Anglicanm ;  Palmer,  Origines  Liturgicce ;  Bingham's  Antiqui- 
ties of  the  Christian  Church,  and  Smith's  Dictionary  of  Christian  Anti- 
quities, —  all  reliable  sources.  Besides  these,  I  have  found  in  various 
of  them  valuable  references  to  Bona  and  Le  Brun  on  the  Mass. 


THE  ROMAN  LITURGIES  109 

these  offices  contained  in  the  Breviary,  the  use  of  which 
is  obligatory  every  day  by  every  one  in  orders,  from 
the  Pope  down  to  the  latest  sub-deacon,  have,  as  it 
were,  been  crowded  out  of  the  sanctuary,  and  have 
become,  in  using,  private  services.  Of  the  Breviary  we 
may  remark  in  passing  that  it  is  the  Reformed  Bre- 
viary of  Urban  VIIL,  published  in  1631,  which  is  now 
in  use.  Up  to  the  Reformation  almost  every  diocese 
and  monastery  had  its  own  Breviary  ;  one  hundred 
and  fifty  different  uses  were  to  be  found  in  Western 
Christendom  up  to  that  time.  After  various  efforts 
of  various  Popes  to  revise  and  reduce  these  uses,  from 
Gregory  VII.,  in  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century, 
to  Pius  IV.,  in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
Pius  v.,  after  the  failure  of  the  Council  of  Trent  to 
complete  the  task  imposed  upon  it  by  Paul  IV.,  or- 
dered a  number  of  learned  men  to  compile  a  Breviary 
for  general  use.  This  reformed  and  condensed  Bre- 
viary was  published  in  1568,  preceded  by  the  bull 
*'  Quod  a  JSfobis,'^  forbidding  the  use  of  any  other. 
Subsequently  amended  by  Clement  VIIL,  and  finally 
by  Urban  VIIL,  it  is  now  (with  the  addition  of  some 
services  for  saints  since  canonized)  of  obligation,  and 
in  universal  daily  use  by  all  in  orders  of  every  kind, 
conventual  and  ecclesiastical.  It  is  divided  into  four 
parts,  corresponding  to  the  seasons ;  winter,  spring, 
summer,  and  autumn.  It  consists  of  portions  of  the 
Psalter,  Collects,  Prayers,  Commemoration  of  Saints 
and  Martyrs,  Ave  Marias,  and  Litanies,  and  requires 
one  hour  and  a  half  at  least  for  the  daily  recitation. 


110  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

It  corresponds  to  the  Order  of  Daily  Morning  and 
Evening  Prayer  in  the  Common  Prayer  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church,  which  has  largely  drawn  from  it,  by 
a  condensation  and  amalgamation  of  its  various 
parts. 

But  while  this  brief  passing  notice  of  a  daily  service, 
required  de  rigueur  of  all  ecclesiastics,  seemed  neces- 
sary as  indicating  the  Roman  discipline  of  worship,  it 
is  the  Mass  or  Liturgy  which  dominates  to-day  all  the 
public  services  of  the  Roman  Communion;  and  to 
this  we  must  confine  our  chief  attention. 

And  I  speak  of  the  Roman  liturgy  rather  than 
Roman  liturgies,  because  the  time  would  fail  me  to 
delineate  and  differentiate  the  various  forms  of  the 
liturgy  such  as  the  Amhrosian,  the  very  ancient  use 
of  Milan  and  Northern  Italy.  This  is  still  used  in 
Milan,  though  not  exactly  as  of  old  or  without  changes 
as  edited  at  various  times,  since  the  second  oblation 
or  the  oblation  of  the  elements  after  consecration, 
which  exists  in  the  Roman  liturgy,  was  not  in  it, 
as  late  as  the  ninth  or  tenth  century  (see  Palmer, 
vol.  i.  p.  127)  ;  the  Mozarabic  liturgy  compiled  or 
edited  by  Isidore  Bishop  of  Seville  in  the  seventh 
century  and  used  in  Spain  till  the  time  of  Gregory 
YII.,  when  the  Roman  was  substituted.  Cardinal 
Ximenes  in  the  fifteen  century  renewed  its  observ- 
ance in  Toledo  and  published  an  edition  of  it  Anno 
Bom.  1500;  the  various  Gallican  liturgies  of  which  ^ 
there  were  many,  though  based  on  one  original,  prob- 
ably to   be  traced   to   Lyons  and  through  Lyons  to 


THE  ROMAN  LITURGIES  111 


*Asia  and  the  tradition  of  St.  John  (since  Irenseus, 
'^a  disciple  of  Polycarp,  who  was  a  disciple  of  St.  John, 
Ibecame  Bishop  of  Lyons  about  a.  d.  177).  This 
differed  in  some  measure  from  the  Roman  in  the 
sixth  century,  as  seen  by  the  fact  that  Augustine,  first 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  writes  to  Pope  Gregory 
to  inquire  "  why  one  custom  of  liturgy  prevails  in 
the  church  of  Rome  and  another  in  those  of  Gaul." 
The  Roman  rites  were  introduced  in  the  place  of 
the  ancient  Galilean  in  the  time  of  Charlemagne, 
who  ordained  by  an  imperial  edict  that  every  priest 
should  celebrate  the  liturgy  in  the  Roman  manner. 
He  meant  to  unify  the  religious  uses  of  his  vast 
empire  and  please  the  Pope  who  crowned  him.  Nor 
need  we  dwell  on  the  various  English  uses  or  customs, 
as  of  York,  Sarum,  Hereford,  Bangor,  Leicester  and 
Aberdeen,  for  these  had  all  been  derived  from  the 
sacramentary  of  Gregory,  though  the  Sarum  Use, 
dating  from  Osmond,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  1078,  be- 
came the  common  Use,  the  whole  of  England,  Wales, 
and  Ireland  adopting  it.  These  various  missals  and 
rituals  differed  very  little  from  each  other,  the  sacra- 
mentary of  Gregory  being  used  with  various  small 
additions.  The  rites,  however,  of  the  English  churches 
were  not  entirely  uniform  in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  therefore  the  Metropolitans  of  Canterbury, 
at  the  request  of  Edward  VI.,  edited  and  compiled  the 
English  Ritual  and  produced  the  First  Prayer-Book 
of  Edward  VI.  in  1549.  Of  the  liturgy  of  the  British 
Church  before  the  mission  of  St.  Augustine,  there  are 


112  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

no  traces  in  any  known  manuscripts.  That  it  differed 
from  the  Roman,  we  learn  from  Bede,  who  quotes  an 
address  of  Augustine  to  the  British  bishops  as  fol- 
lows :  "  In  many  respects  you  act  contrary  to  our 
customs,  and  indeed  to  those  of  the  universal  Church, 
and  yet  if  you  will  obey  me  in  these  three  things, — 

1.  To  celebrate  Easter  at  the  proper  time. 

2.  To  perform  the  office  of  baptism,  in  which  we  are 
born  again  to  God,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  Holy 
Roman  and  ApostoHc  Church,  and 

3.  With  us  to  preach  the  word  of  God  to  the  English 
nation,  — 

wc  will  tolerate  all  your  other  customs,  though 
contrary  to  our  own  (quamvis  moribus  nostris 
contraria).'* 

As  the  Roman  and  Galilean  were  the  only  two 
primitive  liturgies  in  the  West  of  which  there  is  any 
record,  it  is  probable  that  the  early  British  bishops 
(who  existed  early  in  the  fourth  century)  derived 
their  orders  from  Gaul,  the  nearest  Christian  prov- 
ince, and  used  the  Galilean  liturgy,  which,  as  avc  have 
noted,  was  superseded  later  by  the  Roman  through 
the  edict  of  Charlemagne. 

The  variations  of  various  liturgies  derived  from  the 
same  source  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that, 
while  the  substantial  part,  or  more  strictly  the  Canon, 
was  preserved  in  nearly  identical  form,  the  Bishop  of 
each  church  appears  to  have  possessed  the  power  to  im- 
prove his  own  liturgy  by  the  addition  of  new  ideas  and 


THE  ROMAN  LITURGIES  113 

rites.  While  the  Roman  and  Gallican  liturgies  and 
those  derived  from  them,  as  the  Italian  and  Mozarabic 
or  Spanish,  preserved  an  identity  of  order  and  the 
same  series  of  parts,  variety  of  expression  is  found  for 
every  particular  feast.  It  is  in  these  missals  that  we 
find  the  variations,  and  they  grow  with  the  develop- 
ment of  dogma,  or,  as  our  Roman  friends  would  per- 
haps prefer  to  say,  with  its  more  explicit  definition. 
Thus,  as  an  illustration,  it  was  in  the  eleventh  century, 
according  to  Rock,  that  the  great  elevation  of  the  con- 
secrated Host  and  the  chalice,  for  the  adoration  of 
the  faithful,  was  instituted  to  emphasize  the  received 
doctrine  of  the  presence,  in  opposition  to  Berengarius, 
who  about  1047  called  the  commonly  accepted  view 
(not  decreed  as  dogma  until  1215)  "  inepta  vecordia 
vulgi."  His  excommunication  was  accompanied  by 
this  addition  of  the  Elevation  to  the  Roman  Missa. 
And  it  is  from  these  Missas  or  rubrical  directions,  and 
the  ceremonies  derived  from  them,  that  we  deduce  the 
special  Roman  doctrine  of  the  Mass,  and  not  from 
the  words  of  institution,  which  are  largely  scriptural 
and  so  accepted  by  all,  though  not  interpreted  alike  by 
all.  Of  course  the  Nicene  creed  must  be  an  addition 
of  the  fourth  century  to  the  liturgy.  Before  this  no 
creed  seems  to  have  been  used  in  any  liturgy.  In  the 
Eastern  churches  it  was  introduced  before  it  found  a 
place  in  the  Roman,  being  found  in  the  liturgy  of 
Constantinople  about  511,  while  Berno  says  the  creed 
only  began  to  be  sung  in  the  Roman  churches  about 
1062,  though  Martene  thinks  it  was  used  —  or  said 

8 


114  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

—  earlier.  Still,  the  Roman  liturgy,  like  all  others,  in 
its  present  form  is  a  growth,  and  it  is  in  the  growing 
portions  that  we  read  its  history  and  comprehend 
its  meaning. 

Now,  though  the  liturgies  are  traditionally  ancient, 
according  to  all  authorities,  not  one  appears  to  have 
been  writteM  before  the  fourth  or  fifth  century.  The 
one  which  appears  in  the  Apostolical  Constitutions 
is  probably  as  ancient  as  any  written  form,  and 
that  stands  about  the  middle  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury, but  "  it  is  not  known  [to  quote  Dr.  Rock]  to 
have  been  nsed,  as  compiled  in  the  '  Constitutions,' 
in  any  church  service  whatever."  ''  The  early  litur- 
gies of  the  various  churches  were  transmitted  solely 
by  tradition ;  "  so  that  Martene,  in  his  work  '^  De 
Antiquis  Ecclesise  Ritibus,"  says  of  the  so-called 
Liturgies  of  the  Apostles,  that  "  learned  men  admit 
none  of  them  as  genuine  productions  of  their  reputed 
authors."  The  most  ancient  sources  of  the  Roman 
Liturgy  of  to-day  are  the  Leonine  Sacramentary, 
that  of  Pope  Gelasius,  and  the  Sacramentary  of 
Gregory  the  Great.  But  neither  Pope  Leo  I.  (451) 
nor  Pope  Gelasius  (492),  nor  Gregory  the  Great 
(590)  are  supposed  to  have  composed  liturgies  anew, 
but  only  to  have  improved,  abridged,  or  in  parts 
amplified,  uses  which  had  already  obtained  in  the 
Church.  But  this  usage  of  adding  to  the  Missas 
indicates  how  the  Roman  Liturgy  has  developed  to 
its  present  form.  The  fact,  moreover, ''  that  the  prim- 
itive liturgies  were  not  committed  to  writing  at  first 


THE  ROMAN  LITURGIES  115 

but  to  memory,  indicates  that  many  variations  would 
be  introduced,  while  the  principal  substance  and  order 
might  be  preserved.^  And  it  can  be  readily  seen  that 
accretions  would  accumulate,  according  as  circum- 
stances (such  as  that  alluded  to  at  the  time  of  Beren- 
garius,  in  regard  to  the  Elevation  of  the  Host)  would 
indicate  the  advisability  of  emphasizing,  or  making 
ritually  apparent,  a  phase  of  doctrine  which  had 
obtained  credence,  but  which  had  come  into  dispute. 

Another  cause  for  variations  in  the  various  Missse 
is  the  fact  that  until  the  eleventh  century  the  offices 
of  the  Holy  Communion  were  not  bound  up  in  one 
volume,  but  were  contained  mfour.     These  were  : 

1.  The  Anti27ho7ier,  or  parts  to  be  said  or  sung 
antiphonally. 

2.  The  Lectionary,  or  the  Books  of  the  Epistles,  also 
called  Epistolarium. 

3.  Book  of  the  Gospels,  also  called  Evangelisteria, 
containing  portions  of  the  four  Gospels. 

4.  The  Sacramentary,  or  the  Canon  of  the  Mass,  which 
is  the  missal  proper. 

In  all  of  the  separated  portions  of  the  service, 
annotations  and  changes  would  creep  in,  and  varia- 
tions would  afterward  appear,  for  which  the  cause  or 
occasion  would  have  lapsed  from  memory.  After  the 
eleventh  century,  up  to  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries,  the  whole  service  l)ound  in  one  volume  could 
be  found,  and  was  more  secure  from  variations.     But 

1  Palmer,  vol.  i.  p.  121, 


116  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

as  has  been  previously  said,  the  Canon,  or  strict  order 
of  the  Mass,  preserved  its  essential  features  in  all 
the  liturgies  with  considerable  uniformity.  Martenc 
gives  as  the  order  of  the  older  Sacramentaries  in 
which  they  essentially  agreed,  the  following  :  — 

1.  Prayers  for  the  Church  and  the  conversion  of 
Infidels. 

2.  The  Kiss  of  Peace. 

3.  Oblations  of  Bread  and  Wine,  mixed  with  water. 

4.  Consecration  of  the  same. 

5.  Communion,  or  distribution  of  the  Sacrament. 

Around  this  nucleus  the  elaborated  services  of 
later  dates  have  formed  themselves.  Martene  also 
gives  as  the  order  of  the  service  in  the  Apostolical 
Constitutions  (a  rite,  as  we  have  noted,  proposed,  if 
never  performed,  at  some  time  not  later  than  the 
fourth  century)  the  following:  After  three  lessons, — 
one  from  the  Old  Testament,  one  from  the  New 
Testament,  and  one  from  the  Gospels,  followed  the 
oratio,  or  sermon.  Then  the  catechumens  were  dis- 
missed, and  then  followed  the  Post  Ohlata^  or  prayers 
over  the  oblations  of  the  people;  then  the  Kiss  of 
Peace ;  the  Prayer  for  all  Men ;  the  Consecration  of 
the  Elements  ;  the  Communion.  Professor  Swainson, 
of  Cambridge  University,  in  his  exhaustive  article  on 
"  Liturgy  "  in  "  Smith's  Dictionary  of  Christian  Anti- 
quities,' '  adds  the  following  description  of  the  Ordo  of 
the  Canon  (which  is  wanting  or  simply  indicated  in 


THE  ROMAN  LITURGIES  117 

the  Gelasian  Sacramentary).  The  Canon  commences 
with  the  Sursuin  Corda^  "  Lift  up  your  hearts," 
with  its  responses ;  then  a  Eucharistic  address  to 
God  for  the  gift  and  work  of  his  Son  ;  passing  at 
once  to  the  words  of  institution,  which  are  given  in 
the  simplest  form.  The  prayer  proceeds  :  "  Calling 
to  mind,  therefore.  His  death  and  His  resurrection, 
etc.,  we  offer  to  Thee  this  bread  and  cup,  rendering 
Thee  thanks  that  Thou  hast  made  us  worthy  to  stand 
before  Thee  and  to  perform  the  functions  of  Thy 
priesthood."  The  Holy  Spirit  is  invoked  upon  the 
oblations,  but  there  is  no  prayer  that  He  will  make 
them  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  The  prayer  is 
that  those  who  partake  of  the  gifts  "  may  be  fulfilled 
with  that  Spirit."  The  words  ''  Sanctum  Sacrificium 
immaculatam  Hostiam"  are  by  Walafridus  Strabo 
(dec.  849)  said  to  have  been  added  to  the  Canon 
by  Leo  L^  It  is  difficult  to  get  an  accurate  view  of 
the  Sacramentary  of  Gregory  the  Great  (a.  d.  590). 
Muratori  says,  "  No  one  can  believe  that  we  have  the 
book  as  it  came  from  the  hand  of  Gregory."  ^  For  in 
the  four  or  five  manuscripts  known  to  Muratori  the 
Masses  vary  in  the  several  editions,  the  Festivals 
vary,  and  all  are  said  to  include  the  Commemoration 
of  Gregory  himself.  Yet  Palmer,^  after  diligent  com- 
parison and  investigation,  gives  the  following  as  an 
approximate  exhibition  of  the  service  as  revised  and 
established  by  Gregory  the  Great : 

1  See  Smith,  Dictionary  of  Antiq.  vol.  ii,  p.  1183,  Art,  Sacrifice. 

2  See  Smith,  vol.  ii.  p.  1033.  ^  Origines  Liturgicce,  vol.  i.  p.  123. 


118  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

"  It  began  at  first  with  a  collect  and  lesson  from 
Scripture,  among  which  a  psalm  was  sung.  Then 
came  the  sermon,  followed  by  the  dismissal  of  the 
catechumens  and  silent  prayer  made  by  priest  and 
people,  after  which  the  oblations  of  the  people,  con- 
sisting chiefly  of  bread  and  wine,  were  received  while 
the  offertory  was  sung.  The  elements  being  selected 
from  these  and  placed  on  the  altar,  the  priest  read 
the  collect  called  '  secreta '  or  super  oblata,  and 
then  began  the  Preface,  • —  a  Thanksgiving  with  the 
form  '  Sursum  Corda,'  etc.,  —  at  the  close  of  which 
the  people  clianted  the  hymn  ^  Tersanctus.'  The 
Canon  now  commenced  with  commending  the  people's 
gifts  and  offerings  to  the  acceptance  of  God  and 
prayers  for  the  King  and  the  Bishop,  with  a  com- 
memoration of  the  living  and  especially  of  those  who 
had  offered  liberally.  This  was  succeeded  by  a  prayer 
that  the  oblation  of  bread  and  wine  might  '  be  made 
to  us  the  body  and  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord 
and  God."  The  commemoration  of  our  Saviour's 
deeds  and  words  in  celebrating  the  Eucharist  fol- 
lowed. After  which  came  an  oblation  of  the  Sacra- 
ments, as  a  sacrifice  of  bread  and  wine,  and  a  petition 
that  they  might  be  presented  by  the  angels  on  the 
altar  in  heaven.  Then  followed  a  commemoration  of 
the  departed  faithful,  and  prayer  for  communion  with 
them.  The  canon  being  now  completed,  the  bread 
was  broken  and  divided  into  portions  for  distribution, 
and  then  the  Lord's  Prayer  was  recited.  After  this 
the  clergy  and  people  interchanged  a  kiss  of  peace  and 


THE  ROMAN  LITURGIES  119 

all  communicated  and  the  priest  concluded  the  office 
with  a  short  prayer."  This  was  the  order  and  sub- 
stance of  the  Roman  liturgy  in  the  fifth  century. 

Having  thus  traced  the  Genesis  and  Method  of 
growth  of  Roman  liturgies,  we  turn  to  consider  some 
of  its  salient  features  to-day  and  to  indicate  by  the 
exposition  of  its  essential  idea  an  explanation  of  its 
elaborate  and  splendid  ritual  and  the  supreme  place 
which  it  occupies  in  the  worship  of  the  Church. 

One  of  the  salient  features  of  the  Roman  Mass  to-day 
is  that  it  is  performed  in  all  countries  in  the  Latin 
tongue.  Dr.  Rock  gives  as  the  reason,  that,  being 
first  originated  in  Latin  (the  language  of  the  day  and 
country),  and  that  by  the  use  of  St.  Peter  at  Rome, 
reverence  for  so  august  an  origin  and  an  aversion  to 
innovation  has  continued  tlie  use,  which  secures  uni- 
formity in  public  worship  throughout  the  world  and 
makes  the  worshipper  of  whatever  clime  and  tongue 
feel  at  home  in  the  Church  in  every  place.  Then  the 
preservation  of  the  one  language  prevents  variation 
in  the  meaning  of  terms  incident  to  frequent  transla- 
tions of  them,  and  so  is  conservative  of  orthodoxy ;  and, 
moreover,^  "  in  the  performance  of  this  sacred  service 
no  office  is  assigned  to  the  people.  The  sacrifice  is 
offered  up  by  the  priest  in  their  name  and  on  their 
behalf.  The  whole  action  is  between  God  and  the 
priest.     So  far  is  it  from  being  necessary  that  the 

1  I  quote  now  the  exact  words  of  Dr.  Rock  (see  Hierurgia,  vol.  i. 
p.  314),  though  it  anticipates  what  will  follow  concerning  the  Roman 
idea  of  the  nature  of  the  service. 


120  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

people  shall  understand  the  language  of  the  sacrifice, 
that  they  are  not  allowed  even  to  hear  the  most 
important  and  solemn  part  of  it.  .  .  .  They  do  not  act, 
they  do  not  say  the  prayers  of  the  priest,  they  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  actual  performance  of  the 
Holy  Sacrifice." 

Such,  then,  being  the  reasons,  we  understand  that 
peculiarity  of  the  Roman  communion  which  distin- 
guishes it  from  that  of  all  other  churches,  in  that  its 
principal  service  is  conducted  in  a  language  not 
"  understanded  by  the  people." 

Another  peculiarity  of  the  Roman  Mass  is  that  all 
save  the  officiating  priest  receive  in  one  species  only, 
that  of  bread,  from  the  Pope  down,  i.  e.,  when  there  is 
communion  of  the  people,  which  is  by  no  means  uni- 
versally the  case. 

It  was  only  towards  the  commencement  of  the  twelfth 
century,  according  to  Rock,  that  the  public  administra- 
tion of  the  Sacrament  in  one  kind  began.  It  is  held 
that  previous  to  this  the  administration  in  private  to 
the  sick  had  been  in  one  species  only.  But  nothing  was 
authoritatively/  promulgated  by  the  Church  concerning 
this  regulation  until  A.  D.  1414,  when  the  Council 
of  Constance  (in  opposition  to  Huss,  who  asserted, 
contrary  to  what  had  been  the  custom,  that  the  use 
of  the  cup  was  necessary)  decreed  that  the  custom  of 
communicating  in  one  kind  should  be  received  as  law, 
which  no  one  without  the  authority  of  the  Church 
might  reject  or  alter.  This  decree, among  other  objects, 
was   meant  to   buttress  and   emphasize   by  a  ritual 


THE  ROMAN  LITURGIES  121 

observance  the  doctrine,  afterward  decreed  by  the 
Council  of  Trent,  under  pain  of  anathema,  that  "  as 
much  is  contained  under  one  species  as  under  both ; 
for  Christ  whole  and  entire  is  under  the  species  of 
bread,  and  under  any  part  soever  of  that  species ; 
likewise  the  whole  Christ  is  under  the  species  of  wine 
and  under  the  parts  thereof."  ^  Earlier  (a.d.  492)  Pope 
Gelasius  had  made  a  similar  dogmatic  use  of  a  ritual 
observance  in  a  contrary  direction,  by  insisting  that 
the  communion  should  be  received  by  all  the  faithful, 
under  both  kinds,  in  order  to  confute  the  Manichaeans, 
who  abstained  from  the  cup  from  superstitious  reasons.^ 
The  administration  hence  now  is  universally  in  one 
kind,  though  it  is  a  matter  of  discipline  which  might  be 
changed,  but  which  is  observed  as  a  guard  against 
possible  irreverence  in  spilling  of  the  chalice,  and  on 
the  principle  enunciated  by  Rock  :  ^  "  In  the  sacrifice 
it  is  by  divine  institution  necessary  for  the  sacrificing 
priest  to  consecrate  and  drink  of  the  chalice  in  order 
to  complete  the  sacrifice,  —  the  mystic  oblation  of 
Christ's  body  and  the  shedding  of  his  blood  upon  the 
Cross.  In  the  sacrament  this  not  required  of  the 
communicant."  And  this  is  confirmed  by  the  words  of 
the  Council  of  Trent,*  that  "  the  whole  and  the  entire 
Christ  and  the  true  sacrament  are  taken  under  either 
kind,  and  therefore,  as  to  the  fruit,  that  they  who  thus 
receive  are  deprived  of  no  necessary  grace." 

1  See  Canons  of  Council  of  Trent,  sec.  xiii.  chap.  iii. 

2  Rock,  Hierurgia,  vol.  i.  p.  285. 

8  Vol.  i.  p.  288.  4  Sec.  xxi.  chap.  iii. 


122  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

The  practice  of  non-communicating  attendance  at 
Mass  is  not  ordered  or  favored  by  the  Council  of 
Trent,  nor  by  the  most  recent  commentators  on  the 
Mass.  Moehler  ^  remarks  :  "  The  unseemliness  of  the 
congregation  no  longer  communicating  every  Sunday 
(as  was  the  case  in  the  primitive  Church),  and  of  the 
priest  in  the  Mass  usually  receiving  alone  the  Body  of 
the  Lord,  is  not  to  be  laid  to  the  blame  of  the  Church 
(for  all  the  prayers  in  the  Holy  Sacrifice  presuppose  the 
sacramental  communion  of  the  entire  congregation), 
but  it  is  to  be  attributed  solely  to  the  tepidity  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  faithful ;  yet  are  the  latter  earnestly 
exhorted  to  participate  at  least  spiritually  in  the  com- 
munion of  the  priest,  and  in  this  way  to  enter  into  the 
followship  of  Christ."  And  this  is  borne  out  by  the 
direction  of  the  Council  of  Trent,^  which  speaks  in 
this  wise  :  "  The  Sacred  and  Holy  Synod  would  fain 
indeed  that  at  each  Mass  the  faithful  who  are  present 
should  communicate,  not  only  in  spiritual  desire,  but 
also  by  sacramental  participation  of  the  eucharist;  .  .  . 
but  not  therefore,  if  this  be  not  always  done,  does 
it  condemn,  but  approves  of  and  commends  those 
Masses  in  which  the  priest  alone  communicates 
sacramentally." 

There  are  many  kinds  of  Masses  receiving  many 
names  from  the  objects  for  which  they  are  celebrated, 
but  they  may  all  be  reduced  to  two  kinds,  which 
are  ip^  Ihemselves  one,  namely.  High  Mass  and  Low 

1  Symbolism,  p.  236. 

2  gee.  xxii.  chap.  vi. 


THE  ROMAN  LITURGIES  123 

Mass,  which  are  distinguished  from  each  other,  not 
so  much  by  their  contents,  though  they  vary  a  little 
in  subject  matter,  as  by  the  amount  of  ceremonial 
attending  their  performance.  High  Mass  is  sung, 
and  is  accompanied  with  music,  many  attendants, 
more  splendid  vestments,  and  some  additional  cere- 
monies. Pontifical  High  Mass  is  a  supreme  function 
of  this  class.  The  Low  Mass  is  read  and  is  devoid  of 
music,  and  is  altogether  a  shorter  and  plainer  service. 
But  the  variety  of  Masses,  of  which  I  have  seen  a  list 
of  thirty-six,  are  simply  Masses  on  different  occasions 
and  for  special  needs ;  as  Requiem  Masses  for  the 
departed,  Nuptial  Masses  for  the  newly  wedded  pair, 
A  Votive  Mass,  formerly  a  Mass  for  some  special 
blessing,  temporal  or  spiritual,  though  now  it  means 
any  Mass  not  of  the  day.  In  all  these  the  ordo  or 
Canon  of  the  Mass  is  fixed  and  the  same,  the  rest 
or  the  Proper  of  the  Mass  differs  on  different  occa- 
sions. In  all  these  services  everything  is  prescribed. 
There  is  nothing  individual,  but  all  is  ofificial  in 
action  as  well  as  in  expression.  The  vestments  in 
shape  and  color,  the  lights  in  number  and  size,  the 
inclinations  of  head  and  knees,  the  motions  of  the 
hands  and  the  eyes,  all  have  significance  ;  and  much 
of  this  claims  a  remote  antiquity  for  its  origin.  Dr. 
Rock  sees  the  precedent  for  lights  at  Mass  in  the 
many  lights  in  the  upper  chamber  where  St.  Paul 
at  Troas  preached  unto  the  Brethren  as  they  came 
together  to  break  bread,  and  continued  his  speech  until 
midnight.     He  remarks  that,  "  The  numerous  lamps 


124  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

particularly  noticed  here  were  no  doubt  employed  to 
give  splendor  to  the  sacred  institution  ; "  ^  and  claims 
that  the  vision  of  St.  John  as  recorded  in  the  first  chap- 
ter of  the  Book  of  Revelation,  beginning, "  I  was  in  the 
Spirit  on  the  Lord's  Day,"  and  speaking  of  the  Seven 
Golden  Candlesticks,  was  an  animated  picture  "  which 
we  may  presume  either  represents  the  Liturgy  as  it 
was  then  celebrated,  or  became  the  model  according 
to  which  it  was  afterward  arranged  "  (p.  263).  I  do  not 
allude  to  these  arguments  from  Scripture  either  to 
fault  or  favor  them,  for  my  province  to-day  is  not 
that  of  a  critic,  or  of  an  expositor,  but  merely  to 
show  that  scriptural  and  apostolic  precedent  is 
sought  and  claimed  for  all  the  general  and  essential 
features  of  the  Mass,  as  it  is  performed  to-day. 

To  enter  into  a  minute  description  of  the  service 
of  the  Mass  would  take  more  time  than  the  whole 
hour  appointed  for  this  lecture,  nor  could  it  seem 
other  than  cumbersome,  intricate,  and  unedifying  in 
its  detail,  unless  the  doctrine  on  which  it  is  founded 
were  thoroughly  understood.  Then  it  at  once  be- 
comes plain  and  congruous ;  and  though  its  varied 
features  were  elaborated  during  a  long  period,  in 
which  stately  and  splendid  ceremonial,  as  witnessed 
at  the  courts  of  princes  and  emperors,  was  deemed 
the  noblest  and  truest  external  homage  to  the  King 
of  kings,  still  these  features  become  intelligible  and 
interpretative  of  the  great  idea  which  underlies  the 

1  Kock's  Hierurgia,  vol.  i.  p.  263. 


THE  ROMAN  LITURGIES  125 

service.  It  is  not  obnoxious  to  the  charge  that  it  is 
unmeaning.  It  is  clear  when  the  conception  of  the 
function  is  clear.  There  is  not  an  osculation  of  the 
altar,  nor  a  sign  of  the  cross,  the  lighting  of  a  taper, 
nor  the  swinging  of  a  censer,  not  an  attitude,  nor  a 
voice,  nor  a  silence,  but  what  has  its  meaning  as  an 
illustration  and  instrument  of  the  action  of  which  it 
forms  a  part. 

In  every  Mass  there  is :  1.  The  Ordinary  of  the 
Mass,  from  the  introit  (Ps.  xlii.)  to  and  including  the 
Sanctus,  as  well  as  the  oblation  and  elevation  of  the 
Host  and  the  chalice  (as  yet  unconsecrated,  but  called 
in  the  prayer  attending  Elevation,  a  sacrifice)  ;  also 
the  Epistle,  Gospel,  and  Creed  with  the  graduale  before 
the  Gospel.  2.  The  Canon,  or  words  of  consecration 
(which  for  the  bread  are,  "For  this  is  my  body," 
without  the  addition  "  which  is  given  for  you  "  in  St. 
Luke's  account;  and  for  tlie  Cup,  "  This  is  the  chalice 
of  my  blood  of  the  New  and  Eternal  Testament,  the 
mystery  of  Faith  which  shall  be  shed  for  you  and 
for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins  "),  and  the  Eleva- 
tion of  the  consecrated  Host  and  chalice,  and  then 
follow  prayers  for  living  and  dead,  and  the  commemo- 
ration of  certain  great  saints,  beginning  with  the  Vir- 
gin Mary ;  then  the  commixture  of  a  particle  of  the 
consecrated  Host  in  the  consecrated  chalice,  with  the 
communion  of  the  priest  in  both  kinds;  after  this 
comes  the  communion,  a  short  prayer  of  thanksgiv- 
ing ;  then  if  there  be  communicants,  they  receive. 
Then  follows  the  post-communion,  thanksgiving  and 


126  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

prayers  and  benediction,  then  "  ite,  missa  est,"  and 
finally  the  first  chapter  of  St.  John's  Gospel. 

This  rapid  survey  of  the  principal  words  and  cere- 
monies of  the  Mass  gives  no  adequate  idea  of  the 
stately  and  intricate  service,  which  is  calculated  to 
impress  upon  the  worshipper  the  transaction  of  a 
transcendent  mystery.  It  is  explicable  only  on  the 
Roman  idea  of  the  Church  and  Sacrament.  Let  me 
elucidate  this  out  of  their  own  authors  and  conciliar 
decrees. 

The  Church  is  regarded  by  Rome  not  chiefly  as 
the  authoritative  witness  to  Christ,  but  rather  as  his 
personal  embodiment.  "  In  one  point  of  view,"  says 
Moehler,^  "the  Church  is  the  living  figure  of  Christ 
manifesting  himself  amid  and  working  through  all 
ages,  whose  atoning  and  redeeming  acts  it  in  conse- 
quence eternally  repeats  and  uninterruptedly  contin- 
ues. The  Redeemer  not  merely  lived  eighteen  hundred 
years  ago,  ...  he  is,  on  the  contrary,  eternally  living 
in  his  Church,  and  in  the  Sacrament  of  the  altar  he 
hath  manifested  this  in  a  sensible  manner  to  creatures 
endowed  with  sense.  ...  If  Christ,  concealed  under 
an  earthly  vail,  unfolds  to  the  end  of  time  his 
whole  course  of  actions  begun  on  earth,  he  of  neces- 
sity eternally  offers  himself  to  the  Father  as  a  vic- 
tim for  men ;  and  the  real  permanent  exposition 
hereof  can  never  fail  in  the  Church,  if  the  historical 
Christ  is  to  celebrate  in  her  his  entire  imperishable 
existence.  .  .  . 

1  Symbolism,  p.  231. 


THE  ROMAN  LITURGIES  127 

"  Christ  on  the  cross  has  offered  the  sacrifice  for 
our  sins,'*  but  *'  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  on  the  cross  is 
put  only  for  a  part  of  an  organic  whole.  His  whole 
life  on  earth  .  .  .  constitutes  one  great  sacrificial  act 
expiatory  of  our  sins,  consisting  indeed  of  various 
individual  parts,  yet  so  that  none  by  itself  is,  strictly 
speaking,  the  sacrifice.  .  .  .  The  will  of  Christ  to  man- 
ifest his  gracious  condescension  to  us  in  the  Eucharist 
forms  no  less  an  integral  part  of  his  great  work 
than  all  besides,  and  in  a  way  so  necessary  indeed 
that  .  .  .  without  it  the  other  parts  would  not  have 
sufficed  for  our  complete  atonement.  .  .  .  Hence  the 
sacramental  sacrifice  is  a  true  sacrifice  —  a  sacrifice 
in  the  strict  sense,  yet  so  that  it  must  in  no  wise  be 
separated  from  the  other  things  which  Christ  hath 
achieved  for  us.  .  .  .  In  this  last  part  of  the  objec- 
tive sacrifice,  the  latter  becomes  subjective  and  appro- 
priated to  us.  Christ  on  the  cross  is  still  an  object 
strange  to  us ;  Christ  in  the  Christian  worship  is  our 
property,  our  victim.  There  he  is  the  universal  vic- 
tim, here  he  is  the  victim  for  us  in  particular  .  .  . ; 
there  he  was  only  the  victim,  here  he  is  the  victim 
acknowledged  and  revered ;  there  the  objective  atone- 
ment was  consummated,  here  the  subjective  atonement 
is  partly  fostered  and  promoted,  partly  expressed." 
"  Now  the  sacrifice  appears  propitiatory  and  the 
Redeemer  present  enables  us  to  be  entirely  his  own 
children."  "  With  faith  in  the  real  existence  of 
Christ  in  the  Eucharist,  the  past  becomes  the  present. 
He  is  present  as  that  which  he  actually  is  and  in 


128  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

the  whole  extent  of  his  actions,  to  wit,  as  the  real 
victim  .  .  .  '*  so  that  "  it  is  not  the  interior  acts  of 
thanksgiving,  adoration  and  gratitude  which  it  (the 
Church)  offers  up  to  God  but  it  is  Christ  himself 
present  in  Sacrament.'^ 

These  are  not  simply  the  words  of  an  individual 
theologian,  but  of  one  eminent  for  his  genius,  and  ap- 
proved and  sanctioned  by  Roman  theologians.  They 
are  the  philosophic  exposition  of  the  dogmas  of  the 
Roman  communion  as  expressed  in  the  decrees  of  the 
Council  of  Trent,  and  of  the  Catechism  of  that  Coun- 
cil, which  is  of  authority.  For,  as  the  following  ex- 
tracts will  concisely  show,  the  Church  holds  to  not 
only  the  real  presence  of  the  flesh  and  blood  of  Christ, 
born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  but  that  in  this  flesh  and 
blood  he  is  immolated  daily  on  the  altar  by  the  priest 
as  his  representative,  i,  e.,  that  in  the  Eucharist  Christ 
immolates  himself  on  the  altar  as  he  once  immolated 
himself  on  the  Cross. 

From  the  third  and  fourth  chapters  of  Session 
Thirteenth  of  the  Canons  of  the  Council  of  Trent 
we  make  these  extracts:  — 

Ch.  III.  *'  Immediately  after  the  consecration  the 
veritable  body  of  the  Lord  and  his  veritable  blood, 
together  with  his  soul  and  divinity,  are  under  the  species 
of  bread  and  wine  by  the  force  of  the  words ;  and  by 
the  consecration  [Ch.  IV.]  of  the  bread  and  of  the  wine, 
a  conversion  is  made  of  the  whole  substance  of  the  bread 
into  the  substance  of  the  body  of  Christ  our  Lord,  and  of 
the  whole  substance  of  the  wine  into  the  substance  of  his 


THE  ROMAN  LITURGIES  129 

blood,  which  conversion  is  by  the  Holy  Catholic  Church 
suitably  and  properly  called  Transubstantiation.'* 

Also,  in  Question  XXVI.  of  the  Catechism  of  the 
Council  of  Trent  (which  is  of  authority),  it  is  stated  : 

*' There  are  three  things  which  the  Catholic  faith  un- 
hesitatingly believes  and  confesses  to  be  accomphshed  by 
the  words  of  consecration  : 

''  The  first  is,  that  the  true  body  of  Christ  the  Lord, 
the  very  same  that  was  born  of  the  Virgin  and  sits  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Father  in  heaven  is  contained  in  this 
sacrament. 

^' The  second,  tlmt  however  alien  to  and  remote  from 
the  senses  it  may  seem,  no  substance  of  the  elements  re- 
mains therein. 

**  The  third,  that  the  accidents  which  are  discerned  by 
the  eyes  or  perceived  by  the  other  senses,  exist  in  a 
wonderful  and  ineffable  manner,  without  a  subject.  All 
the  accidents  of  bread  and  wine  we  indeed  may  see ;  they, 
however,  inhere  in  no  substance,  but  exist  by  themselves; 
whereas,  the  substance  of  the  bread  and  wine  are  so 
changed  into  the  very  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord,  that 
the  substance  of  bread  and  wine  altogether  ceases  to 
exist." 

And  Canon  VI.:  — 

"If  any  one  saith  that  in  the  Holy  Sacrament  of  the 
Eucharist  the  Only  begotten  Son  of  God  is  not  to  be 
adored  with  the  worship  even  externxil  of  latria,  let  him 
be  anathema." 

9 


130  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

So  much  for  the  real  presence,  or  Transubstantia- 
tion.  In  regard  to  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  treated 
in  Session  Twenty -two  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  we  find 
this  statement :  — 

Ch.  II.  *'  In  this  Divine  Sacrifice  which  is  celebrated 
in  the  Mass,  that  same  Christ  is  contained  and  immolated 
in  an  unbloody  manner,  who  once  offered  himself  in  a 
bloody  manner  on  the  altar  of  the  Cross.  This  sacrifice 
is  truly  propitiatory.  .  .  .  For  the  victim  is  one  and  the 
same,  the  same  now  offering  by  the  ministry  of  priests, 
who  then  offered  himself  on  the  cross ;  the  manner  alone 
of  offering  being  different." 

Therefore  Canon  III, :  — 

*'  If  any  one  saith  that  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is  only 
a  sacrifice  of  praise  and  thanksgiving,  or  that  it  is  a  bare 
commemoration  of  the  sacrifice  consummated  on  the  Cross, 
but  not  a  propitiatory  sacrifice,  or  that  it  profits  only  him 
who  receives  it,  and  that  it  ought  not  to  be  offered  for 
the  living  and  the  dead,  for  sins,  pains,  etc.,  let  him  be 
amathema." 

Again  in  Questions  LXXIV.,  LXXY.,  and  LXXVI. 

of  the  Catechism  of  the  Council  of  Trent  we  find  the 
following :  — 

*'  The  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is,  and  ought  to  be  con- 
sidered one  and  the  same  as  that  of  the  Cross,  —  as  the 
victim  is  one  and  the  same,  namely,  Christ  our  Lord,  who 
immolated  himself  once  only  after  a  bloody  manner  on 
the  altar  of  the  Cross.  For  the  bloody  and  unbloody 
victim  are  not  two  victims,  but  one  only —  whose  sacrifice 
is  daily  renewed  in  the  Eucharist." 


TETE  ROMAN  LITURGIES  131 

Q.  LXXV.  "  But  the  Priest  also  is  one  and  the  same, 
Christ  the  Lord,  for  the  ministers  who  offer  sacrifice, 
when  they  consecrate  his  body  and  blood,  act  not  in  their 
own  but  in  the  person  of  Christ  .  .  .  and  thus  represent- 
ing Christ,  he  changes  the  substance  of  the  bread  and 
wine  into  the  true  substance  of  his  body  and  blood." 

Q.  LXXVI.  "  And  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is 
not  a  sacrifice  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  only,  or  a  mere 
commemoration  of  the  sacrifice  accomplished  on  the  Cross, 
but  also  a  truly  propitiatory  sacrifice,  by  which  God  is 
appeased  and  rendered  propitious  towards  us  .  .  .  We 
immolate  and  offer  this  most  holy  victim  ...  As  often  as 
the  commemoration  of  this  victim  is  celebrated,  so  often 
is  the  work  of  our  salvation  being  done." 

This,  v/hich  might  seem  to  be  a  literally  physical 
sacrifice,  is  thus  spoken  of  as  a  spiritual  sacrifice  by 
Dr.  Rocki:  — 

"It  (the  Mass)  is  a  spiritual  sacrifice  where  the  victim, 
though  identically  present,  still  is  not  observable  except- 
ing to  the  eye  of  faith  only;  where  the  sword  of  the 
sacrifice  is  the  word  of  Christ,  pronounced  by  his  Minis- 
tering Priest,  and  which  works  the  mystic  separation  of 
the  body  from  the  blood  —  where  this  blood  is  not  poured 
out  or  spilled  except  in  mystery,  —  and  where  there  is  no 
death,  except  by  representation.  Still  it  is  a  sacrifice,  in 
which  Jesus  Christ  is  verily  contained  and  immolated  to 
God  under  this  figure  of  death." 

In  view,  then,  of  such  a  doctrinal  basis  is  the  cere- 
monial of  the  Mass  illogical  ?     If  the  Sacrament  is 

1  Hierurgia,  p.  254. 


132  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

Christ's  continual  reacting  of  the  sacrifice  on  Calvary, 
—  here  mystically  as  there  physically  slain  —  if  this 
is  the  essential  completing  and  application  of  that 
sacrifice  to  the  individual,  and  if  not  ruling  and 
reigning,  not  intercession  and  benediction,  but  sacrifi- 
cial immolation  on  the  altar  is  Christ's  perpetual 
action  for  and  before  his  people,  is  it  strange  that 
John  Henry  Newman  should  have  written  thus  of  this 
great  function  to  his  former  brethren  of  the  English 
Church:!  — 

"  Ttie  idea  of  worship  is  different  in  the  Catholic  Church 
from  the  idea  of  it  in  your  Church,  for  in  truth  the  re- 
ligions are  different.  They  differ  in  kind,  not  iu  degree. 
Ours  is  one  religion,  yours  is  another.  It  (the  Mass) 
is  not  a  mere  form  of  words,  it  is  a  great  action.  It  is 
not  the  invocation  merely,  but  (if  I  dare  use  the  word) 
the  Eiwcation  of  the  Eternal.  He  becomes  present  on 
the  Altar  in  flesh  and  blood  before  whom  angels  bow  and 
devils  tremble.  This  is  that  awful  event  which  is  the 
scope  and  is  the  interpretation  of  every  part  of  the  solem- 
nity. Words  are  necessary,  but  as  means,  not  ends ;  they 
are  not  mere  addresses  to  the  throne  of  grace,  they  are 
instruments  of  what  is  far  higher,  of  consecration,  of 
sacrifice.  They  hurry  on,  as  if  impatient  to  fulfil  their 
mission.  Quickly  they  go  —  the  whole  is  quick  ;  for  they 
are  all  parts  of  one  integral  action.  Quickly  they  go,  for 
they  are  awful  words  of  sacrifice  —  they  are  a  work  too 
great  to  delay  upon,  as  when  it  was  said  in  the  beginning, 
'  What  thou  doest,  do  quickly.'     Quickly  they  pass,  for 

1  See  Loss  and  Gain,  p.  328. 


THE  ROMAN  LITURGIES  133 

the  Lord  Jesus  goes  with  them,  as  he  passed  along  the 
lake  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  quickly  calling  first  one  and 
then  another.  Quickly  they  pass,  because  as  the  lightning 
which  shineth  from  one  part  of  the  heaven  unto  the  other, 
so  is  the  Coming  of  the  Son  of  Man.  Quickly  they  pass, 
for  they  are  as  the  words  of  Moses,  when  the  Lord  came 
down  in  the  cloud,  calling  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  as  he 
passed  by,  '  The  Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gra- 
cious, long  suffering  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth.' 
And  as  Moses  on  the  mountain,  so  we  too  make  haste 
to  bow  our  heads  to  the  earth  and  adore.  '  So  we  all 
around,  each  in  his  place,  look  out  for  the  great  advent, 
waiting  for  the  moving  of  the  water.'  Each  in  his  own 
place,  with  his  own  heart,  with  his  own  wants,  with  his 
own  thoughts,  with  his  own  intention,  with  his  own 
prayers,  separate  but  concordant,  watching  what  is  going 
on,  watching  its  progress,  uniting  in  its  consummation  — 
not  painfully  and  hopelessly  following  a  hard  form  of 
prayer  from  beginning  to  end,  but  like  a  concert  of  musi- 
cal instruments,  each  different,  but  concurring  in  a  sweet 
harmony,  we  take  our  part  with  God's  priest,  supporting 
him,  yet  guided  by  him.  There  are  little  children  there, 
and  old  men,  and  simple  laborers  and  students  in  semi- 
naries, priests  preparing  for  Mass,  priests  making  their 
thanksgiving ;  there  are  innocent  maidens  and  there  are 
penitent  sinners,  but  out  of  these  many  minds  rises  one 
Eucharistic  hymn,  and  the  great  Action  is  the  Measure 
and  the  scope  of  it." 

With  these  eloquent  words  of  the  great  convert  of 
the  century,  I  close  this  sketch  of  the  origin,  growth, 
and    doctrinal    significance   of    the   Roman   liturgy. 


134  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

Tliey  depict  in  glowing  language  the  service  which  so 
enchanted  liis  imagination  and  commanded  his  faith  ; 
and  it  is  fitting  that  we  should  not  only  see  what  the 
Mass  means,  but  understand  its  appeal  to  the  devout 
Roman  Catholic. 

In  this  exposition  —  brief,  though  I  fear  too  long  — 
of  a  subject  on  which  volumes  and  folios  have  been 
written  almost  without  number,  I  have  abstained 
from  criticism,  for  that  was  not  my  office  ;  but  as  a 
Protestant  minister,  addressing  Protestant  students, 
I  may  perhaps  be  permitted  to  say,  in  closing,  that,  to 
me,  the  reading  of  the  simple  statements  of  the  Gos- 
pels in  their  account  of  the  institution  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  and  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  in  its  treat- 
ment of  the  nature  and  meaning  of  our  Lord's  sacri- 
fice, taken  together  with  the  silence  of  St.  Peter,  Paul, 
and  James  and  John  concerning  any  such  view  of  the 
Eucharist  as  forms  the  foundation  of  the  Roman  Mass 
( which  view  had  they  held,  it  must  have  appeared  and 
imparted  its  tone  to  their  writings),  in  fine,  to  me,  the 
New  Testament,  in  its  voice  and  in  its  silence,  is  the 
one  conclusive  argument  against  the  validity  of  the 
Roman  liturgy. 


V 

THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES 

By  the  Rev.  HENRY  EYSTER  JACOBS,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Professor  of  Systematic  Theology  in  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Seminary,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


THE    LITURGIES    OF    THE    LUTHERAN 
CHURCH 

IN  estimating  the  principles  of  Christian  worship, 
as  they  have  been  applied  in  the  Lutheran 
Church,  the  thoroughly  conservative  character  of  the 
Lutheran  Reformation  must  always  be  kept  in  mind. 
Luther  did  not  break  abruptly  with  the  past.  The 
movement  which  claims  him  as  its  chief  representa- 
tive was  no  iconoclastic  effort  to  demolish  venerable 
institutions,  as  though  the  entire  history  and  experi- 
ence of  the  Church  for  the  preceding  fifteen  centuries 
should  be  expunged. 

The  hand  of  God  in  the  Reformation  is  not  denied, 
when  we  trace  its  course  in  the  true  line  of  the  his- 
torical development  of  principles  inherent  in  the 
Church  throughout  her  entire  existence.  The  Lord 
was  never  untrue  to  His  promise  to  be  with  His 
people  to  the  end  of  time.  Ever  since  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  the  Holy  Spirit  has  been  a  living  power 
within  them.  Side  by  side  the  twofold  process  may 
be  traced,  by  which,  on  the  one  hand,  the  truth  was 
corrupted,  and,  on  tlie  other,  it  was  continually  brought 
to  clearer  apprehension  and  statement, 


138  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

Had  there  been  no  Media3val  Cburch,  there  would 
have  been  no  Protestant  churches.  Had  there  been 
no  Scholastic  Theology,  there  would  have  been  no 
Theology  of  the  Reformation.  The  religious  experi- 
ence of  Luther  was  the  product  of  the  purest  form 
of  the  religious  life  of  the  Church,  as  he  had  received 
it  from  his  parents  and  teachers.  The  evangelical 
principles  were  all  present,  even  when  the  errors 
which  directly  contradicted  them  seemed  to  be 
received.  More  superficial  natures  could  not  be  so 
sensitive  to  the  conflict ;  but  with  Luther  it  was  a 
matter  of  life  or  death.  If  the  one  class  were  true, 
the  other  was  necessarily  false.  If  the  one  class 
were  to  be  accepted  as  bringing  life,  the  other  was  to 
be  rejected  as  soul-destroying.  Without  condemning 
predecessors,  who  had  not  appreciated  the  extent  of 
iho,  antagonism,  he  who,  in  his  heart-struggle  after 
certainty  of  faith,  had  passed  through  the  severest 
anguish  could  not  be  silent.  Nevertheless,  even  in 
his  protest  and  open  conflict,  he  was  only  the  true 
and  consistent  son  of  the  Church,  who  always  main- 
tained that  his  teaching  was  tliat  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  that  it  was  his  opponents  who  had  broken 
with  the  past.  If  in  the  Ninety-ninth  of  his  Theses 
of  Sept.  4th,  1517,  on  the  Scholastic  Theology,  he 
declares,  "  In  these  statements,  we  believe  that  we 
have  said  nothing  that  is  not  in  harmony  with  the 
Catholic  Church  and  the  Church's  teachers,"  the 
Augsburg  Confession  repeats  the  same  statement  as 
the  conviction  of  all  the  churches  that  had  followed 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  139 

Luther,  in  the  words  :    "  Nothing  has  been  received 
on  our  part  against  Scripture  or  the  Church  Catholic.'* 

Hence  the  entire  work  of  Luther  and  his  associates 
was  determined  in  the  liturgical  sphere,  as  in  other 
departments,  by  constant  regard  to  well-established 
usage,  in  so  far  as  this  usage  was  found  not  to  con- 
flict with  New  Testament  teaching  and  practice. 

With  the  public  services  of  the  Church  of  his  day, 
Luther  was  thoroughly  familiar.  He  knew  them 
long  before  he  knew  his  Bible.  He  learned  to  know 
Scripture  passages  through  them,  long  before  the 
entire  volume  was  first  opened  by  him  in  the  library 
at  Erfurt.  No  one  had  been  more  diligent  in  the 
observance  .of  the  Canonical  Hours,  —  the  foundation 
for  the  matin  and  vesper  services.  From  his  boy- 
hood, as  a  chorister,  he  had  sung  their  words,  until 
they  became  a  part  of  his  very  life.  As  a  most 
zealous  and  scholarly  monk  and  priest,  he  was 
thoroughly  at  home  in  the  Mass.  His  thorough  phil- 
osophical training  had  accustomed  him  to  a  precision 
in  the  use  of  terms,  that  made  the  words  offered  him 
as  the  channels  of  his  devotion  the  subjects  of  con- 
stant criticism.  He  sought  to  say  no  more  than  he 
meant,  and  to  mean  every  word  that  he  said.  The 
Book  of  Psalms,  so  constantly  used  in  these  services, 
was  a  favorite  subject  of  study,  in  which,  as  his 
cotemporaries,  especially  Matthesius,  tell  us,  he 
weighed  carefully  and  with  protracted  attention 
every  word.  His  first  lectures,  as  a  theological  pro- 
fessor,  consisted    in   a    verbal    explanation    of   the 


140  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

Psalms,  and  throughout  his  succeeding  career  their 
fuller  treatment  was  a  favorite  occupation,  even 
when  the  din  of  controversy  was  raging  all  around 
him.  The  same  intellectual  habits  and  spiritual 
necessities  impelled  him  to  a  close  attention  to  other 
parts  of  the  service. '"  The  Collects,  the  Antiphons, 
the  Responsories,  the  Graduals,  the  Tracts,  were  not 
regarded  as  mere  forms  to  be  perfunctorily  sung  or 
repeated,  but  as  Church  rites,  that  were  to  be  used 
only  as  they  were  the  expression  of  Scriptural  teach- 
ing, adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  worshipping  congre- 
gation or  of  the  individual  believer. 

In  this  searching  examination  of  all  the  prescribed 
Orders,  his  faith  was  refreshed  by  the  preponderantly 
Augustinian  character  of  the  Collects,  and  the  fervor 
and  unction  of  many  of  the  metrical  compositions 
that  were  found  in  Missals  and  Breviaries,  and  which 
were  afterwards  translated  or  made  the  foundation  of 
some  of  his  great  hymns.  At  the  same  time,  the 
worship  of  saints,  especially  the  Mariolatry,  and  the 
centralizing  of  the  main  church  service  around 
the  so-called  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  were  unspeakable 
abominations. 

In  the  hope,  however,  that  the  protests  made  against 
prevalent  abuses  would  yet  be  heard,  and  a  reforma- 
tion of  the  worship,  as  well  as  of  doctrine  and 
church  government,  would  be  accomplished  by  the 
regularly  appointed  authorities,  there  was  consider- 
able delay  in  attempting  any  change.  Luther  appre- 
ciated the  difficulties  before  him  in  transforming  the 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  141 

service  from  a  mere  spectacle  which  the  people  wit- 
nessed, to  one  in  which,  as  spiritual  priests,  they 
could  all  participate,  and  in  providing  for  the  change 
from  the  Latin  to  the  language  of  the  worshippers. 
Repeatedly  did  he  express  his  dread  of  the  extremes 
into  wdiich  the  people  might  be  led,  unless  all  changes 
were  made  with  the  greatest  caution. 

"  I  have  done  nothing  forcibly  or  arbitrarily,"  he 
says,  "  neither  have  I  changed  old  things  for  new. 
There  are  two  classes  of  persons,  because  of  whom  I 
have  always  hesitated  and  dreaded  a  change :  first, 
the  weak  in  faith,  from  whom  a  mode  of  worship,  so 
long  and  well-established,  cannot  be  suddenly  removed, 
nor  for  whom  can  one  so  recent  and  unusual  be  sud- 
denly introduced;  and,  secondly,  and  especially, 
the  trifling  and  fastidious  spirits,  who  rush  forward, 
without  faith  and  without  intelligence,  impelled  solely 
by  the  love  of  novelty,  and  who  are  weary  as  soon  as 
the  novelty  ceases.  In  other  spheres,  nothing  is  more 
troublesome  than  this  class  of  men ;  but  in  holy 
things,  they  are  particularly  offensive  and  intolerable. 
Nevertheless  I  am  forced  to  bear  with  them,  unless  I 
want  the  gospel  to  be  entirely  suppressed." 

The  principles,  however,  of  public  worship,  accord- 
ing to  which  the  reformation  was  to  proceed,  he 
outlined  as  early  as  1520,  in  his  ''  Sermon  concerning 
the  New  Testament."  It  is  an  earnest  plea  for  sim- 
plicity in  all  the  external  regulations  of  the  worship, 
upon  the  ground,  "  the  less  law,  the  better  justice ; 
the  fewer  commandments,   the   more   good   works." 


142  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

/The  chief  thing  in  worship  is  declared  to  be  the  Word 
of  God;  and  man's  chief  part  is  not  to  bring  some- 
thing to  God,  but  to  receive  what  God  brings  him. 

^  "  If  man  is  to  deal  with  God  and  receive  anything  of 
Him,  the  mode  of  procedure  is,  not  that  man  makes 
the  beginning  and  laj's  the  first  stone ;  but  God  alone, 
without  any  of  man's  seeking  or  desire,  must  first 
come,  and  make  a  promise.  This  word  of  God  is  the 
first  thing,  the  foundation,  and  rock,  upon  which  all 
the  works,  words  and  thoughts  of  man  are  to  be  built. 
This  word  man  is  to  thankfully  receive,  and  is  to 
confidently  believe  the  divine  promise ;  and  not  doubt 
that  it  is  and  shall  be  precisely  as  it  has  been  prom- 
ised." This  word  of  promise  is  embodied  in  the 
Lord's  Supper,  called  "  the  New  Testament  in  Christ's 
Blood."  Hence,  in  order  that  the  Lord's  Supper  be 
properly  used,  the  words  of  which  it  is  the  seal  must 
be  kept  in  mind  and  laid  to  heart.  The  aim  of  the 
entire  service  is  to  awak^  and  confirm  in  every 
communicant  faith  in  the  redeeming  work  of  Christ, 
and  in  its  saving  application  to  all  who  feel  them- 
selves to  be  sinners. 

It  was  Carlstadt's  radicalism,  during  Luther's  ab- 
sence at  the  Wartburg  in  the  winter  of  1521-22,  that 
offered  the  occasion  for  the  revision,  that  could  be 
delayed  no  longer.  Early  in  the  year  1523,  a  revised 
Order  was  introduced,  under  his  advice,  into  the 
Stadtkirche  at  Wittenberg,  and,  almost  cotempo- 
raneously,  a  similar  Order  appeared  at  Leisnig  in 
Saxony,  whose  pastors  had  obtained  from  Luther  a 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  143 

memorandum,  "  On  the  Order  of  Divine  Service  in 
the  Congregation."  In  this  paper  he  asserts,  first 
of  all,  that,  in  the  reformation  of  the  Church,  the 
provisions  for  public  worship  should  be  treated  pre- 
cisely in  the  same  way  as  those  for  the  preaching  of 
the  Word.  As  preaching  should  not  be  abolished, 
because  of  the  many  defects  and  abuses  in  the 
sermons  of  unevangelical  preachers,  but  should  be  so 
reformed  and  regulated  as  to  become  an  efficient 
means  of  applying  the  gospel  in  its  purity,  and  with 
the  utmost  simplicity,  to  the  people,  so  the  current 
Orders,  both  of  Daily  Morning  and  Evening  Service, 
and  of  the  Sunday  Chief  Service,  were  only  to  be 
purged  of  their  false  teaching  and  to  be  readjusted  to 
the  highest  edification  of  the  worshippers. 

Three  abuses,  he  tells  us,  have  heretofore  prevailed : 
firsts  the  frequent  disuse  of  the  sermon,  and  the  con- 
fining of  the  service  to  the  reading  and  singing  of  its 
prescribed  portions  ;  secondly^  the  introduction  into 
what  is  read,  sung,  and  preached,  of  much  for  which 
there  is  no  foundation  in  God's  Word ;  and  thirdly, 
the  regarding  the  service  as  a  meritorious  work,  by 
the  performance  of  which  man  hopes  to  secure  or 
enjoy  more  of  God's  favor.  For  boys  in  school,  and 
for  all  others  who  in  the  spirit  of  Christian  Freedom 
may  be  disposed  to  attend,  he  recommends  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  daily  matins  and  vespers.  These 
services  had  their  value  in  the  fact  that  from  begin- 
ing  to  end,  in  the  Psalms,  the  Responsaries,  the  Anti- 
phons,  the  Chants,  and  the  Lessons,  they  consisted 


144  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

almost  entirely  of  the  repetition  of  the  very  words  of 
Holy  Scripture.  The  Sunday  services,  however,  are 
assigned  a  still  higher  position,  since  they  claim  the 
presence  of  the  entire  congregation. 

The  main  service  was  known  then  as  the  Mass ; 
as,  to  the  present  day,  the  same  term  is  employed  in 
the  Scandinavian  countries,  after  the  designation  of 
the  service  in  the  ancient  Church,  as  a  Missa  cate- 
chumenorum  and  a  Missa  fidelium.  So  also  the  Augs- 
burg Confession  declares  :  "  Falsely  are  our  churches 
accused  of  abolishing  the  Mass ;  for  the  Mass  is 
retained  on  our  part,  and  celebrated  with  the  highest 
reverence  "  (Art.  XXI Y.).  It  was  tlie  service  held 
near  mid-day  on  Sundays,  in  connection  with  which 
provision  was  always  made  for  the  administration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper.  All  emphasis,  in  this  service, 
Luther  declares,  must  be  placed  upon  the  Word, 
which  then,  as  well  as  at  the  Sunday  vespers,  must 
be  preached  to  the  whole  congregation.  At  the  Mass, 
the  Gospel  for  the  day,  and  at  vespers,  the  Epistle 
for  the  day  is  to  be  expounded,  unless  the  preacher 
prefer  to  preach  upon  particular  books  of  the  Bible 
consecutively.  At  the  former  service,  the  Lord's 
Supper  is  to  be  administered  to  those  desiring  it. 

The  principles  thus  laid  down  were  more  fully 
elaborated  in  his  Foryimla  Missce,  written  a  few 
months  later.  The  Mass  and  the  Communion,  he 
declares,  are  rites  that  were  instituted  by  Christ 
himself.  Both  under  Christ,  and  afterwards  under 
the  Apostles,  they  were  observed  with  extreme  simpli- 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  145 

city.  Afterwards  so  many  additions  had  been  made 
that,  besides  the  name,  scarcely  anything  of  the  Mass 
and  commmiion  had  come  down  to  our  times.  After 
an  historical  examination  of  the  various  additions,  he 
considers  what  parts  of  the  Mass  may  still  be  re- 
tained. The  reading  and  chanting  of  the  Psalms, 
the  Kyrie,  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  for  the  day,  the 
Gloria  in  Excelsis^  the  Graduals,  the  Hallelujah, 
the  Nicene  Creed,  the  Sanctus,  the  Agnus  Dei,  etc., 
are  accepted,  as  contributing  to  edification,  provided 
they  be  not  required  as  essentials  ;  that  is,  as  com- 
manded by  God,  but  only  as  useful  ecclesiastical  forms. 
"  If  different  men  use  different  rites,"  he  says,  "  let  not 
the  one  judge  or  despise  the  other,  but  let  every  one 
abound  in  that  which  is  according  to  his  judgment. 
Even  though  we  practise  diverse  rites,  let  us  hold  to 
the  same  thing ;  and  let  the  rites  employed  by  one 
please  the  other,  so  that  our  diversity  of  rites  may 
not  be  followed  by  diversities  of  opinions  and  of 
sects.  For  the  kingdom  of  God  consists  in  no  par- 
ticular rite,  but  in  the  faith  that  is  within."  With 
characteristic  severity  he  attacks  the  prevalent 
thought  in  the  "  Canon  of  the  Mass,"  which  had 
perverted  the  Holy  Supper  .nto  the  offering  of  the 
body  of  Christ  for  the  sins  of  the  living  and  the  dead. 
The  central  truth,  which  the  Lord's  Supper  was  in- 
tended to  proclaim  and  seal,  was  thus  utterly  denied. 
Each  element  of  the  Service  is  then  separately  criti- 
cised. Instead  of  the  Introits,  he  preferred  the  chant- 
ing of  the  entire  Psalms  from  which  they  had  been 

10 


146  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

taken.  In  the  use  of  the  K^rie,  the  music  should 
vary  according  to  the  season  of  the  Church  Year.  The 
use  of  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis  was  recommended ;  but 
was  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  bishop.  So  Scriptural 
are  the  Collects,  that  they  commend  themselves; 
nevertheless,  reverting  to  the  Gregorian  usage,  he 
directs  that  not  more  than  one  be  used  at  one  time. 
The  selection  of  lessons  from  the  Epistles  he  criticises 
for  their  preponderance  of  legal  elements,  styles  their 
compiler  a  "  remarkably  ignorant  man,"  and  hopes  for 
an  ultimate  revision  which  will  introduce  selections 
from  St.  Paul  touching  the  doctrine  of  faith.  The 
suppression  of  the  Hallelujah  at  Lent,  and  at  other 
penitential  seasons,  he  disapproves,  as  this  is  contrary 
to  the  joyful  spirit  of  the  Gospel.  Even  when  under 
the  cross,  the  child  of  God  should  be  ready  to  sing 
songs  of  triumphant  thanksgiving.  Hallelujah  enim 
vox  perpetua  est  Ecclesioe.  Much  thought  was  given 
to  the  proper  position  of  the  sermon.  Nor,  on  this 
subject,  did  he  come  altogether  into  the  clear.  He 
suggested,  as  a  very  appropriate  place,  that  it  intro- 
duce the  Service,  and  thus  directly  precede  the  Introit 
"  For  the  Gospel  is  a  vox  damans  in  deserto  et  vocans 
ad  fidem  infideles.^^ 

In  the  year  1524,  Dr.  John  Bugenhagen,  Luther's 
colleague,  and  pastor  at  Wittenberg,  embodied  these 
principles  in  a  pamphlet  with  the  title:  "Of  the 
Evangelical  Mass;  what  the  Mass  is,  how  and  by 
whom  and  wherefore  it  was  instituted  ;  also  how  it  is 
to  be  heard,  and  the  Holy  Sacrament  received,"  and 


TEE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  147 

containing,  as  its  third  part,  "An  Order  for  the 
Evangelical  Mass,  translated  from  the  Latin."  The 
succession  of  parts  is  retained,  as  in  Luther's  Formula; 
but  after  the  Epistle  a  direction  is  given  that  a  Psalm 
translated  into  German,  or  a  German  hymn  concern- 
ing Christ,  is  to  be  sung.  A  formula  for  "  Con- 
fession "  and  a  "  Declaration  of  Grace  "  before  the 
Service  is  also  provided.  The  express  statement  is 
given  that  this  Order  must  not  be  regarded  as  a  law, 
but  its  use  must  be  left  free. 

The  Strassburg  Kirclien-Amt  of  the  same  year,  pre- 
pared by  Kopphel,  also  introduces  a  Confessional 
Prayer,  to  be  used  by  the  congregation  while  kneel- 
ing, followed  by  the  words :  "  This  is  a  faithful  say- 
ing, and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners ;  of  whom  I  am 
chief."  This  is  followed  by  Introit,  Kyrie^  Gloria  in 
Uxcelsis,  Salutation  and  Collect,  etc.,  as  in  the  old 
Orders. 

Cotemporaneously  appeared  an  Order  for  the 
churches  of  St.  Sebald  and  St.  Lawrence  at  Niirnberg 
(Dober's  Mass),  following  the  same  arrangement  of 
parts,  except  tliat,  instead  of  the  Introit,  a  German 
hymn  paraphrasing  a  psalm  may  be  sung,  while  the 
minister  enters  the  church.  Listead  of  isolated  selec- 
tions from  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  as  found  in  the 
pericopes,  a  preference  is  expressed  for  the  lectio  con- 
tinua  of  these  two  portions  of  the  New  Testament. 

Li  1526,  another  classical  liturgical  treatise  was 
published  by  Luther  in  his  Deutsche  Messe.     The  use 


148  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

of  the  vernacular  in  tlie  public  worship  is  especially 
urged.  God  is  to  be  addressed  by  the  worshippers 
only  in  such  language  as  they  themselves  understand. 
But  wherever  a  language  is  intelligible  to  the  congre- 
gation or  a  portion  of  it,  whether  that  language  be 
German  or  Latin,  its  use  is  appropriate.  ''  Were  I 
able,"  he  says,  "  and  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  were  as 
common  as  the  Latin,  and  had  in  them  as  much  fine 
music  and  song,  as  the  Latin  has,  Mass  should  be  cele- 
brated, one  Sunday  after  another,  in  all  four  lan- 
guages, —  German,  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew."  Luth- 
er's hymns,  therefore,  have  their  origin  in  his  efforts  to 
translate  and  popularize  the  church  service.  Instead 
of  mere  spectators  and  listeners,  he  sought  to  make 
the  people  actual  participants  in  the  worship.  Psalms, 
Canticles,  Graduals,  and  even  the  Creed,  that  had 
heretofore  been  chanted  by  tliose  trained  for  the  pur- 
pose, were  paraphrased  into  German  verse,  and  set  to 
familiar  or  easy  tunes.  Within  the  single  year,  1524, 
the  most  of  Luther's  hymns  were  written.  Their  aim 
was  not  so  much  to  supplement  as  to  popularize  the 
service.  Even  the  Ten  Commandments  appeared  in 
verse,  each  stanza  ending  with  the  Kyrie.  Instead  of 
the  Introit^  a  versified  paraphrase  of  a  psalm,  in  Ger- 
man, w^as  often  sung.  Nun  bitten  tvir  den  Heiligen 
G-eist  was  a  popular  adaptation  of  the  Gradual,  while 
the  Nicene  Creed  appeared  in  Wir  glauhen  all  an  einen 
Gott.  A  paraphrase  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  was  the 
first  form  of  the  prayer  after  the  sermon. 

As  time  progressed,  there  was  a  similar  reforma- 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  149 

tion  of  the  service  in  every  principality  of  Germany 
that  had  accepted  the  Lutheran  faith.  The  princi- 
ples laid  down  by  Luther  in  his  Formula  Missoe  and 
Deutsche  Messe  were  consistently  applied ;  and  that, 
too,  with  the  assertion  of  Christian  Freedom  in  justi- 
fying diversities  according  to  circumstances  of  time 
and  place. 

The  Lutheran  Church  has  peculiar  capacities  for 
adaptation  to  diverse  gifts,  and  degrees  of  culture, 
and  preferences  of  men,  with  respect  to  the  externals 
of  worship.     Laying  all  stress  upon  unity  in  faith  and 
confession,  it  is  thankful  that  it  is  able  to  express 
this  one  faith  in  so  many  diversified  forms  both  of 
government  and  cultus.     What  is  often  regarded  as 
the  very  strictest  of  the -Lutheran    Confessions  de- 
clares:   "We   believe,   teach,   and    confess   that   no 
Church  should  condemn   another,   because  one   has 
less  or  more  external  ceremonies,  not  commanded  by 
God,  than  the  other,  if  otherwise  there  be  agreement 
among  them  in  doctrine,  and  all  its  articles,  as  well 
also  as   in  the  right  use  of  the  Holy  Sacraments  " 
{Formula  of  Concord,  chap.  x.).     Lutheranism  knows 
how  to  discriminate  between  what  is  desirable  and 
what  is  essential.     Uniformity  in  worship,  if  attain- 
able, is  often  highly  desirable ;  but  there  are  greater 
questions  at  stake  than  that  of  mere  external  con- 
formity to  a  given  model.     Augusti,  accordingly,  has 
stated  that  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  thirty-two 
Lutheran   orders   were  published  between  1523  and 
1555.     Nevertheless  this   does   not  indicate  general 


150  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

confusion.  In  every  respect,  many  of  these  orders 
are  identical,  and  may  be  regarded  as  substantial 
reprints.  A  very  few  became  the  standards,  which 
some  with  more,  and  others  with  less,  revision,  fol- 
lowed. They  have  been  classified  according  to  three 
distinct  types  :  — 

1.  The  Ultra  Conservative^  where  the  effort  is  the 
greatest  to  reproduce  the  Mediaeval  Service,  with  only 
such  changes  as  seem  to  be  imperatively  demanded 
for  doctrinal  reasons.  Of  this  type,  the  Mark-Bran- 
denburg Order  of  1540,  the  Pfalz-Neuburg  of  1543, 
and  the  Austrian  of  1571,  are  types.  In  the  first  of 
these,  the  chants  are  sung  in  Latin;  the  prayers 
are  made  in  German ;  the  Gospel  and  Epistle  are 
first  chanted  in  Latin,  and  then  read  in  German, 
with  the  preface  :  "  This  is  the  Epistle,  beloved,  which 
you  have  heard  sung  in  Latin."  In  the  consecration, 
both  the  bread  and  the  cup  are  elevated  cum  modica 
inclinatione.  The  words  of  Institution  and  the  Lord's 
Prayer  are  sung  in  German ;  while,  following  the 
Agnus  Dei,  arc  three  Collects,  said  in  Latin,  for  the 
forgiveness  of  sins.  The  service  ends  with  a  German, 
followed  by  a  Latin,  Collect.  The  latter  is  subject  to 
the  just  criticism  of  transcending  the  Lutheran  doc- 
trine of  the  Real  Presence,  by  the  use  of  language 
that,  even  if  though  meant  in  a  figurative  sense, 
admits  of  the  interpretation  of  a  permanent  union 
between  the  bread  and  the  body  of  Christ,  and  of  that 
Capernaitic  eating  thereof,  which  the  Lutheran  Church 
afterwards  confessionally  repudiated  in  the  Formula 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  161 

of  Concord:  '■'Quod  nos peccatores  sumpsimus  et  calix 
quern  potavlmus  adhcereat  visceribus  nostris,  et  prcesta 
ut  ihi  nulla  remaneat  peccati  macula^  ubi  tarn  pura  et 
sa7icta  introierunt  sacramental  The  Pfalz-Neuhurg 
Order  follows  the  Mark-Brandenburg  in  this. 

While  in  1539,  Luther  declares  his  indiiference  as 
to  the  extent  to  which  external  conformity  with  Roman 
ceremonies  may  be  carried,  provided  only  that  the 
gospel  be  purely  preached,  the  sacraments  be  prop- 
erly administered,  and  no  invocation  of  saints,  or  con- 
secration of  holy  water,  or  Masses  for  the  dead,  or 
sacramental  processions  be  admitted,  nevertheless,  at 
other  times,  he  speaks  freely  concerning  his  appre- 
hensions as  to  whither  merely  archaistic  tendencies 
may  lead.  Problems  were  presented  by  the  Leipzig 
Interim  of  1548,  concerning  which  the  Formula  of 
Concord  had  to  make  a  definite  statement  as  to  the 
limitations  with  which  ceremonies  should  be  regarded 
as  mere  adiaphora.  Rites  which,  of  themselves,  are 
matters  of  indifierence,  may  become  marks  or  badges 
of  a  false  Confession.  Times  there  are  when  it 
makes  a  difference  whether  we  wear  a  blue  or  an 
orange  ribbon,  a  white  or  a  red  rose,  though  this  of 
itself  be  an  adiaphoron.  "  We  believe,  teach  and 
confess,"  says  the  Confession  just  cited,  "that,  in 
time  of  persecution,  when  a  bold  confession  is  re- 
quired of  us,  we  should  not  yield  to  the  enemies  in 
regard  to  such  adiapliora.  .  .  .  For  in  such  case,  it  is 
no  longer  a  question  concerning  adiaphora^  but  con- 
cerning the  truth  of  the  gospel.  Christian  Liberty  and 


152  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

sanctioning  open  idolatry,  as  also  concerning  the  pre- 
vention of  offence  to  the  weak,  in  which  we  have 
nothing  to  concede,  but  must  boldly  confess,  and 
then  suffer  whatever  God  allows  the  enemies  of  His 
Word  to  inflict  upon  us." 

2.  The  Conservative  type,  following  the  principles 
set  forth  by  Luther  in  his  liturgical  treatises.  The 
general  structure  of  the  Gregorian  Order  which  under- 
lies the  Latin  Mass  is  here  retained,  but  with  impor- 
tant changes  and  adaptations.  Of  these,  the  most 
influential,  probably,  was  the  Brandenburg-Niirnberg, 
prepared  by  Osiander  and  Brentz  in  1538,  and  revised 
by  the  Wittenberg  Faculty.  The  Orders  prepared  by 
Bugenhagen  for  a  number  of  States  and  cities  in 
Northern  Germany,  as  Brunswick  (1528),  Hamburg 
(1529),  Liibeck  (1531),  Pomerania  (1585) ;  the  Han- 
over Order  (1536),  prepared  by  Regius  ;  and  the  Order 
prepared  in  1586  for  Duke  Henry  of  Saxony  by  Justus 
Jonas,  belong  to  the  same  class.  So  also  do  the 
Swedish  Order,  and  the  Danish  Order,  prepared  by 
Bugenhagen.  Another  most  important  Order  of  this 
type  was  the  one  prepared  by  Melanchthon  and  Bucer 
in  1547  for  Archbishop  Hermann  in  his  proposed 
Reformation  of  Cologne.  It  was  based  upon  the 
Brandenburg-Niirnberg  Order,  and,  although  never 
introduced,  lives  in  the  Prayer  Book  of  the  Church  of 
England,  through  the  first  Prayer  Book  of  Edward  VL, 
which  drew  largely  upon  it,  and  which  we  claim  as 
one  of  the  members  of  this  group  of  Lutlieran  liturgies. 

3.  The  liturgies  of  Southwest  Germany,  the  Bi'an- 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  163 

denbiirg-Nlirnberg  excepted.    While  Lutheran  in  doc- 
trine, tliey  show  the  influence  of  the  earlier  efforts  of 
Dr.  John  Brentz,  the  Wiirtemberg  reformer,  in  the 
revision  of  the  service,  in  which  he  had  less  regard 
for  historical  precedents  than  at  a  later  period.    With 
all  his  endeavors  afterwards,  to  conform  the  Wiirtem- 
berg Orders  to  the  type  that  had  been  established  in 
Saxony,  the  most  he  could  do  was  to  effect  a  com- 
promise.    These  liturgies   are   recognized,  therefore, 
as  mediating  between  the  Lutheran   and   Reformed 
types.     They  assume   a   fixed   form   in  The  greater 
Wilrtemhurg  Order  of  1553,  providing  for  two  orders, 
one  for  communion  days,  and   the   other   for   other 
occasions.     On   communion   days,   the   order   is :    1. 
Hymn  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  a  German  Psalm,  or  any 
hymn  suitable  to  the  time.     2.  Sermon,  followed  by 
tlie  General  Prayer.    3.  Creed  (German).   4.  Admoni- 
tion concerning  the  Lord's  Supper.     5.  Brief  prayer 
read.     6.  Chanting  of  the  Lord's  Prayer.     7.  Words 
of  Institution.    8.  Administration,  a  hymn  being  sung 
while  communicants  go  to  the   altar.     9.  Prayer  of 
thanksgiving.  10.  Patriarchal  Benediction.    For  other 
Sundays:  1.  A  Latin  Litroit  or   a   German  Hymn. 
2.  Sermon.     3.  Reading   of  the  General  Praj^er.     4. 
Psalm   or   Hymn.     5.  Benediction.     Some   elements 
are  omitted  in  the  enumeration,  clearly  because  the 
pastors  were  assumed  to  understand  that  they  were 
inseparable  from  elements  that  are  mentioned,  as,  for 
example,  the  reading  of  the  Gospel,  before  the  sermon. 
Here  the  responsive  features  of   the   service  have 


154  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

vanished,  except  that  the  Litany  may  be  used  for  the 
General  Prayer,  or  at  special  services  on  appointed 
days. 

In  all  these  Orders,  however,  even  in  those  of  the 
first  class,  provision  is  made  for  a  considerable  degree 
of  flexibility,  by  express  directions  in  the  Rubrics, 
that,  in  the  country  churches  and  villages,  a  much 
simpler  form  might  be  followed,  without  destroying 
the  organism  of  the  worship,  while  a  more  elaborate 
rendering  of  the  service  was  desirable  in  the  cities, 
where  the  necessary  musical  resources  were  accessible. 
In  thus  seeking  to  adapt  the  principles  of  the  service 
to  the  conditions  of  the  people,  while  at  the  same 
time  preserving  all  its  parts,  Bugenhagen's  Order 
provides  for  no  less  than  seven  hymns,  as  Introit, 
Gloria  in  Excelsis^  and  Agnus  Dei  assume  a  hymnal 
form. 

Underlying  the  Lutheran  conception  of  the  service 
are  certain  principles,  necessary  to  be  kept  in  mind 
in  order  to  appreciate  the  mutual  relations  of  its 
several  parts.  All  true  worship  is  the  communion  of 
man  with  God,  in  response  to  an  assurance  of  favoF 
and  a  divine  invitation  encouraging  such  approach. 
Upon  some  word  and  promise  of  God  every  prayer 
must  rest.  Two  factors,  therefore,  are  found  in  all 
true  worship ;  namely,  the  divine  invitation  and  the 
human  response.  God  is  ever  graciously  giving,  and 
man  is  ever  thankfully  receiving.  The  former  is  the 
sacramental,  and  the  latter  the  sacrificial,  element  of 
worship.    A  clear  statement  of  this  distinction  is  made 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  155 

by  Melanchthon  in  the  Apology  of  the  Augsburg  Con- 
fession.^ The  sacramental  element  is  not  limited  to 
the  two  Sacraments,  but,  in  a  general  sense,  comprises 
every  act  in  which  God  brings  man  a  blessing,  and 
thus  belongs  to  the  preaching  and  reading  of  the 
Word,  as  well  as  to  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper. 
A  sacrifice,  however,  is  any  act  whereby  man  brings 
sometliing  to  God,  in  order  to  afford  Him  honor. 
Sacrifices  are  of  two  kinds.  The  propitiatory  sacri- 
fice, whereby  God's  wrath  is  appeased  and  His  favor 
gained,  is  found  only  in  the  sacrifice  of  Clirist  for  us 
on  the  Cross.  But  eucharistic  sacrifices  of  prayer, 
praise,  and  thanksgiving  are  to  be  continual,  offered 
by  those  who,  through  the  one  propitiatory  sacrifice 
once  offered,  are  reconciled  to  God. 

Examining  the  three  main  types  of  Christian 
worship,  it  is  claimed  that  these  three  factors, 
tlie  sacramental,  the  propitiatory-sacrificial,  and  the 
eucharistic-sacrificial,  distinguish  three  forms  of  Chris- 
tianity. Romanism,  and,  to  a  less  degree,  Greek 
Catholicism,  obscure  or  deny  the  doctrine  of  the 
completion  of  Christ's  sacrifice  on  Calvary  as  the 
sole  propitiation  for  our  sins.  The  worship  centres, 
therefore,  around  the  Bloodless  Sacrifice  of  Christ  in 
the  Mass,  for  the  sins  of  the  living  and  the  dead. 
By  being  converted  into  a  sacrifice,  the  sacramental 
force  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  lost.  The  assurance  of 
forgiveness,  of  which  it  is  the  pledge,  has  vanished. 

1  Book  of  Concord  (Jacobs),  i.  262. 


156  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

God  no  longer  is  recognized  as  approaching  His  people 
with  the  words  of  ])ardon  and  comfort.  But  instead, 
the  priest,  in  order  to  shelter  the  people  from  the 
divine  wrath,  offers  the  body  of  Christ  to  an  angry 
and  as  yet  unappeased  God.  Nor  in  the  Holy  Supper 
do  we  find,  according  to  this  conception,  a  divine  act ; 
but  Masses  are  multiplied,  as  works  whereby  man 
brings  something  to  God. 

The  Reformed  and  Lutheran  conceptions  of  the 
public  service  are  alike  based  upon  a  combination  of 
the  thought  of  the  eucharistic  sacrifice  with  that  of 
the  sacrament.  The  proportion,  however,  is  different ; 
or  there  is  a  variation  in  the  side  emphasized.  The 
question  involved  is,  as  to  whether  the  main  end  be 
the  rendering  to  God  of  the  sincere  offering  of  grate- 
ful hearts,  or  the  receiving  of  God's  riches  of  forgiv- 
ing, renewing,  enlightening,  and  strengthening  grace. 
Are  the  hearing  of  God's  Word  and  the  reception  of 
the  Holy  Supper  chiefly  incentives  to  prayer  and 
praise  ?  Or  do  prayei'  and  praise  only  prepare  for 
and  accompany  Word  and  Sacrament,  and  help  us  to 
receive  them  ?  Is  the  Lord's  Supper  principally  an 
act  whereby  man  professes  his  faith,  or  one  whereby 
God  comes,  with  a  peculiar  blessing,  to  man  ?  Which 
part  of  the  minister's  duty  is  the  more  important,  — 
that  whereby  he  stands  before  God  as  the  leader  of 
the  congregation,  or  that  whereby  he  stands  before 
the  congregation  as  the  representative  of  God  ? 

According  to  the  Lutheran  conception,  the  sacra- 
mental is  the  main   element.     Not  the  prayers  and 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  157 

chants  and  hymns  of  the  people,  or  even  the  word  of 
the  pastor,  testifying  from  the  depth  of  his  Christian 
experience,  but  the  Word  of  God,  is  itself  the  chief 
part  of  every  service.  The  reading  and  repeating  of  v 
tliis  Word  have  a  sacramental  force  ;  as  with  the 
Word,  and  only  through  the  Word,  comes  the  divine 
blessing.  The  Lord's  Supper  is  no  sacrifice  that  the 
worshipper  offers,  or  that  any  priest  offers  for  him. 
He  thanks  God  for  the  sacrifice  made  for  him,  once 
for  all,  ages  ago,  when  his  Lord  declared:  ^'It  is 
finished."  Of  this  complete  redemption  he  finds  a 
sure  pledge  in  the  gift  to  him,  with  the  bread  and 
wine,  of  the  very  Body  and  Blood  that  have  paid  the 
price  for  his  sins,  and  bouglit  him  back  from  the 
bondage  of  Satan  to  the  sonship  of  God.  Luther,  in 
expounding  the  true  character  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
as  a  sacrament  of  the  New  Testament,  says  in  his 
sermon  concerning  the  New  Testament  of  1520 : 
"  A  testament  receives  no  benefit  from  us ;  but  brings 
a  benefit  to  us.  Who  ever  heard  of  a  man  doing  a 
good  work  by  receiving  a  testament  ?  Man  docs 
nothing  but  take  to  himself  the  benefit  that  is  offered. 
In  the  Lord's  Supper,  therefore,  we  give  Christ  noth- 
ing ;  but  only  receive  from  Him  the  blessing." 

The  entire  life  of  the  service  is  dependent  upon  the 
reciprocal  action  of  these  two  elements  ;  just  as  the 
life  of  the  body  continues  by  the  twofold  process  of 
inhalation  and  expiration.  God  speaks.  Man  re- 
sponds ;  and  then  God  speaks  again.  In  the  eucha- 
ristic  sacrifice  the   heart    turns   to   God,  and  opens 


158  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

for  the  blessing,  which  is  immediately  followed  by 
the  word  of  divine  grace.  But  no  sooner  is  the 
blessing  received  than  it  immediately  awakens  new 
emotions.  The  heart  overflows  with  gratitude,  with 
the  sense  of  unworthiness  of  the  blessings  received, 
and  with  the  desire  for  closer  union  with  God,  and  a 
more  worthy  service  of  so  gracious  a  benefactor. 
The  expression  of  this  is  another  cucharistic  act, 
to  which  God  responds  in  a  new  blessing. 
(^  Thus  the  entire  service  is  a  conversation  between 
God  and  man  ;  a  continual  giving  and  receiving. 
Now  the  pastor  acts  as  the  representative  of  the 
people  before  God,  when  he  leads  their  prayers  ;  and 
then,  as  the  representative  of  God  to  the  people,  as 
he  reads  or  proclaims  the  Word,  or  administers  the 
sacrament.  Now  the  people  exercise  the  function  of 
their  spiritual  priesthood,  in  their  united  hymns  and 
prayers,  —  the  cucharistic  act ;  and  then,  again,  stand 
and  speak  in  God's  name,  as,  in  their  responses,  they 
announce  to  one  another  the  consolations  and  admo- 
nitions of  God's  Word,  —  the  sacramental  act. 

So  also  the  various  parts  of  the  service  are  directed 
towards  a  common  end.  The  entire  plan  of  salva- 
tion, from  its  beginnings  in  the  counsels  of  eternity  to 
its  completion  in  the  new  heavens  and  the  new  eartli, 
is  gradually  unfolded.  A  portion  of  the  service,  like 
tlie  needs  of  the  Christian  life  and  their  supply,  is 
permanent;  while  another  portion  is  variable  with 
the  change  of  times  and  seasons ;  yet  so  as  to  present 
each  year  (such,  at  least,  is  the  aim)  the   leading 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  159 

features  of  the  life  of  Christ,  all  the  doctrines  of  the 
Christian  faith,  and  all  the  duties  of  the  Christian 
life.  Not  in  advance  was  tliis  organism  of  the  ser- 
vice determined.  Gradually  and  spontaneously  it 
emerged  from  the  experience  of  believers,  as,  from 
generation  to  generation,  they  assembled  to  hear  and 
worship.  Even  where  a  fixed  liturgy  is  discarded, 
or  no  attention  is  given  to  any  scientific  expression  of 
principles,  it  reappears,  without  law  or  prescription,  as 
to  its  main  features,  from  the  necessities  of  a  common 
religious  experience. 

The  ideal  of  congregational  worship  in  the  minds  of 
the  Lutheran  reformers  could  not  be  realized  within  a 
single  generation.  Lutlier's  introduction  to  the  Small 
Catechism  (1529)  may  be  read,  if  we  desire  to  learn 
the  standard  of  intelligence  and  the  extent  of  the 
religious  knowledge  among  the  most  of  the  congrega- 
tions with  which  they  had  to  deal.  A  people  unaccus- 
tomed to  participate  in  the  service  were  to  be  gradually 
trained  to  be  more  than  mere  spectators  who  "attended 
Mass."  This  had  to  be  accomplished  without  hymn  or 
prayer-book  in  their  hands  as  to-day.  The  time  was 
in  the  Lutheran  Church  when  a  book,  even  of  hymns, 
in  the  hands  of  a  member  of  the  congregation  was 
regarded  as  formalism.  All  hymns  that  were  to  be 
sung,  it  was  thought,  should  be  committed  to  memory, 
in  order  that  men  could  sing  from  the  heart  what  had 
first  been  learned  by  heart. 

But  before  the  complete  revision  of  tlie  service 
throughout  the  Lutheran  churches  of  Germany  could 


160  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

be  attained,  a  new  period  came.  Scholastic  Luther- 
anisra  burdened  the  service  with  labored  attempts 
at  dogmatical  precision  of  statement.  Gradual l}^ 
the  freshness  and  warmth  of  the  sixteenth  century 
vanish.  The  overwhelming  preponderance  of  what 
was  purely  didactic  in  sermon,  prayer,  and  hymn 
hinders  the  free  movement  between  the  sacramental 
and  sacrificial  elements.  Then  came  the  scourge  of 
the  Thirty  Years'  War,  reducing  the  population  of 
Germany  to  one  fourth,  and  devastating  alike  city  and 
country  in  many  regions  where  the  Lutheran  faith 
was  most  unequivocally  confessed.  Then  came  Piet- 
ism, with  its  standard  of  what  subserves  the  purposes 
only  of  individual  and  temporary  devotion.  The  Com- 
mon Prayer  and  common  testimony  of  the  Church  were 
overshadowed  by  the  individuality  of  the  one  who 
professed  to  lead  the  devotions.  Then  came  Rational- 
ism, which  regarded  sermon  and  service  purely  with 
respect  to  moral  ends,  and  not  as  a  means  of  the 
united  communion  of  tlie  cliildren  of  God  with  their 
Heavenly  Father,  upon  the  ground  solely  of  their 
redemption,  as  lost  sinners,  by  the  blood  of  Christ. 
No  wonder  that  the  orders  of  the  sixteenth  century 
were  depreciated  by  those  whose  preaching  was  di- 
rectly contradicted  by  their  Scriptural  teaching. 

Both  in  Germany  and  America,  during  the  last 
half  century,  there  has  been  a  widespread  return  to 
these  orders,  accompanied  with  the  recognition  of  the 
necessity  of  cei^tain  adaptations  to  circumstances  of 
time  and  place.     In  so  doing,  the  Lutheran  Church  in 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  161 

America  has  only  reverted  in  the  liturgical  sphere,  as 
she  has  generally  done  in  the  confessional  sphere,  to 
the  foundations  laid  by  her  great  organizer,  Henry 
Melchior  Muhlenberg,  —  a  man  who  united  the  best 
elements  of   Pietism  with   thorough   fidelity   to   the 
Lutheran  Confessions,   and   who,  as  a  Hanoverian, 
came  from  a  portion  of  Germany  where  the  Lutheran 
service  of  the  Reformation  period  had  been  retained 
in  its  purity.     At  the  first  meeting  of  the  first  Luth- 
eran Synod  in  America  in  1748,  an  Order,  prepared 
by  him,  was  adopted,  which,  when  the  condition  of 
the  Lutheran  churches  of  that  period  is  considered,  is 
remarkable   for   its   fidelity  to   liturgical   principles. 
The  order  is  :  A  hymn  to  the  Holy  Spirit ;  an  exhor- 
tation  to   Confession;   the  Confession   of  Sins;   the 
Kyrie  ;  a  versified  paraphrase  of  the  Gloria  in  Ex- 
celsis;  Salutation  and  Collect  for  the  day  ;  Epistle  for 
the  day,  followed  by  a  hymn  ;  Gospel'  for  the  day ; 
Paraphrase  of  the  Creed,  in  verse  ;   Sermon;  General 
Prayer,  according  to  a  prescribed  form,  than  which 
"  nothing  else  shall  be  read,"  save  only  that  the  Lit- 
any may  be  used  instead,  followed  by  special  supplica- 
tions, as  circumstances  suggest;  the  Lord's  Prayer; 
Plymn  ;  closing  Collect ;  Benediction  ;  Hymn  verse.  ' 
In  1783,  Muhlenberg  expressed  his  great  desire  that 
all  the   Lutheran   congregations    in   North   America 
should  be  united  with  one  another,  and  use  the  same 
Order  of  Service  and  same  Hymn  Book.     Within  the 
last  decade,  all  the  so-called  General  Bodies  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  in  this  country,  upon  tlie  motion  of 

11 


162  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

the  United  Synod  of  the  South,  have  either  adopted 
or  indorsed  the  "  Common  Service,"  —  an  order  em- 
bodying the  consensus  of  the  pure  Lutheran  liturgies 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  "  The  aim  has  been,"  we 
quote  from  an  official  statement,  "  to  furnish  the  full 
Lutheran  service  for  all  who  wish  to  use  it.  But  if, 
at  any  time  or  place,  the  use  of  the  full  service  is  im- 
practicable or  undesired,  it  is  not  contrary  to  Lutheran 
principles  or  usage  to  follow  a  simple  form,  in  which 
only  the  principal  parts  of  the  Common  Service,  in 
their  order,  are  retained." 

Briefly  following  the  various  parts  of  this  "  Com- 
mon Service,"  the  Confession  of  Sins,  with  which  it 
opens,  is  demanded  by  the  necessities  of  the  Christian 
heart.  For  the  very  first  thought  that  arises,  as  we 
come  into  the  Divine  Presence,  is  that  of  the  contrast 
between  God's  holiness  and  our  sinfulness.  In  the 
Orders  that  were  followed,  it  is,  indeed,  true  that  the 
weight  of  authorities  would  have  begun  the  service 
with  the  Introit.  But  this  occurred,  where  there  was 
a  confessional  service,  late  on  the  preceding  evening 
{Beicht- Vesper),  or  early  in  the  morning  before  the 
chief  service  began.  The  absence  of  a  confession, 
where  these  subordinate  services  do  not  occur,  would 
have  been  a  violation  of  the  principle.  Accordingly 
after  the  example  of  Bugenhagen's  Order  and  the  Stras- 
burg  Order  (both  1524),  and  the  Brand enburg-Niirn- 
berg  (1533),  the  private  prayers  that,  before  this,  were 
prescribed  for  the  use  of  the  priest,  as  he  came  to 
the  altar,  were  adapted  to  the  general  wants  of  all 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  163 

present,  and  made  the  prayer  of  the  entire  con- 
gregation. 

But  when  The  Confession  has  been  made,  the  heart 
yearns  for  some  assurance  of  forgiveness.  Hence  it 
is  followed  by  a  Declaration  of  Grace,  announcing  in 
three  sentences  the  mercy  of  God  in  the  gift  of  His 
Son,  the  sending  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  institution 
of  the  means  of  grace,  and  praying  that  what  God  has 
thus  provided  may  be  savingly  enjoyed  by  all  present. 
This  declaration  differs  from  an  absolution  in  two  re- 
spects, since  the  absolution  is  administered  to  an 
individual,  and  not  to  an  entire  congregation ;  and, 
secondly,  the  absolution  is  not  the  prayer  for  forgive- 
ness, but  the  absolute  impartation  of  God's  pardoning 
grace  to  a  penitent  and  believing  man. 

Joyful  in  the  consciousness  of  the  love  of  God  thus 
pledged,  the  congregation  can  now  enter  upon  what  is 
properly  The  Service.  As  each  Sunday  presents  its 
peculiar  message  of  divine  grace,  and  has  its  pecul- 
iar part  of  the  plan  of  salvation  to  unfold,  it  is  the 
office  of  the  Introit  to  announce  the  main  thought  of 
the  day.  Many  of  the  Sundays  are  known  by  the 
opening  words  of  the  Introit.  Thus  we  have  in  Lent, 
Invocavit,  Beminiscere,  Oculi  etc.,  and  after  Easter, 
Qiiasiinodogeniti,  Misericordias,  Jubilate,  Oantate,  Bo- 
gate,  "the  Introits,  in  their  present  form,  appear 
first  in  the  Gregorian  Order.  They  have  their  origin 
however,  in  the  Psalms,  with  which  not  only  in  the 
Apostolic  Church,  but  also  in  the  synagogues,  the 
services  began.    Two  parts  belong  to  every  Introit ; 


164  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

first,  the  scriptural  words  announcing  the  thought  of 
the  day,  generally  taken  from  the  Psalms,  and  rendered 
at  first  antiphonally ;  and,  secondly,  the  psalm  verse, 
which  is  generally  the  first  verse  of  a  psalm,  that 
probahly  was  once  sung  throughout  when  thus  an- 
nounced. Then  followed  the  Gloria  Fatri,  which 
belongs  to  the  Introit,  because  taken  from  the  Psalms. 
The  G-loria  Pat7n,  as  used  in  our  church  services,  at 
the  close  of  every  psalm,  shows  that  the  psalms  have 
acquired  a  new  meaning  in  the  light  of  the  gospel,  and 
that  we  use  them  not  as  Jews,  but  as  Christians. 

But  no  sooner  has  the  Gloria  Patri  been  called 
forth  in  gratitude  for  what  has  been  heard  in  the 
psalm,  than  there  once  more  arises  in  man's  heart  the 
sense  of  his  sinfulness  and  un worthiness.  As  even 
the  apostle  who  had  leaned  on  Jesus'  breast  fell  as 
dead  at  the  manifestation  of  the  divine  glory  in  the 
beginning  of  the  Apocalypse,  so  the  devout  worshipper, 
after  learning  of  God's  favor,  remembers  that,  even 
though  he  be  a  forgiven  child  of  God,  rejoicing  in  the 
consciousness  of  his  sonship,  nevertheless  he  still  lives 
upon  earth,  and  sin  still  exists  within  and  around 
him.  Hence  there  arises  the  plaintive  Kyrie^  Eleieson 
("  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us ; '  Christ,  have  mercy  upon 
us  ;  '  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us  "),  which  is  not  simply 
a  Trinitarian  formula,  but  which  looks  back  towards 
the  fountain  of  all  mercy  as  existing  before  the  world, 
then  to  its  historical  manifestation  in  time ;  and 
finally,  through  all  the  stages  of  applying  grace,  to  its 
full  fruition  in  the  world  to  come. 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  165 

Then,  as  always  in  the  Christian  life,  tlie  cry  for 
mercy  is  succeeded  by  the  ti'inmphant  celebration  of 
what  we  are  and  have  in  Christ,  as  the  Gloria  in 
Uxcelsis  is  chanted,  —  a  hymn  of  which  Luther  de- 
clared :  "  It  did  not  grow  ;  nor  was  it  made  on  earth ; 
it  came  down  from  heaven."  In  it,  the  spirit  of 
devotion,  under  the  electric  thrill  of  intense  feeling, 
lias  blended  many  Scriptural  passages,  so  that  every 
clause  of  this,  the  greater  G-loria,  uses  a  new  Scriptural 
phrase  as  the  vehicle  of  its  adoration  and  worship. 
It  is  truly  termed  a  summary  of  all  the  hymns  of 
thanksgiving  and  praise,  both  in  this  world  and  the 
world  to  come,  that  follow  the  contemplation  of 
God's  glory  in  the  incarnation  of  Christ.  May  not  its 
foundation  be  "the  hymn  to  Christ  as  God"  which 
the  famous  letter  of  Pliny  to  Trajan  says  that  the 
early  Christians  chanted  in  their  early  morning 
worship  ? 

The  first  part  of  the  service,  thus  concluded  by  the 
Gloria  in  ExceUis,  is  chiefly  sacrificial;  for  it  con- 
sists mainly  of  prayer,  praise  and  thanksgiving. 
The  second  part  is  chiefly  sacramental;  for  in  it, 
God  approaches  man  with  His  Word,  to  bestow  His 
blessing.  The  worshippers,  before  active,  now  be- 
come receptive.  The  transition,  however,  is  gradual. 
Wherever  God  comes  to  men  with  His  Word,  they 
meet  His  approach  with  prayer.  Hence  the  reading 
of  the  Word  is  preceded  by  a  Collect.  In  uniting  in 
the  Collect,  the  pastor  first  prays  for  the  people  in  the 
Salutation,  and  the  people,  for  the  pastor  in  the  re- 


166  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

spouse:  And  tvith  Thy  Spirit;  and  then  their  com- 
bined petition  arises  in  the  brief  and  condensed 
language  of  these  simple,  but  at  the  same  time  pro- 
found and  comprehensive,  prayers,  through  which  the 
children  of  God  have,  for  ages,  been  carrying  to  the 
throne  of  Grace  the  deepest  felt  aspu*ations  of  their 
hearts.  That  tlie  most  of  them  are  a  thousand  years 
earlier  than  the  Reformation,  and  cannot  be  claimed 
as  the  exclusive  property  of  the  Lutheran  Church, 
only  renders  them  the  more  precious  to  us.  While 
drawn  chiefly  from  the  Leonine  (a.  d.  440),  Gelasian 
(a.d.  492),  and  Gregorian  (a.d.  596)  sacramentaries, 
they  were  embodied  there  as  formulas  already  ap- 
proved, and  we  may,  therefore,  assume  that  some  of 
them  are  much  older  than  the  book  in  which  we  first 
find  them.  Most  clear  and  vivid  expressions  of  the 
Augustinian  theology,  they  adopt,  at  times,  the  very 
language  of  the  great  expounder  of  the  doctrines  of 
the  utter  nothingness  of  man,  and  the  sovereignty  of 
divine  grace.  Some  of  the  very  oldest  came  forth 
from  a  period  when  the  Nestorian  controversy  was 
still  fresh,  and  the  Church  gave  the  simplest  and 
most  direct  expression  to  the  doctrine  of  incarna- 
tion, with  its  unfathomable  depths,  upon  which  its  mind 
had  been  greatly  exercised.  Their  deep  spirituality 
is  the  reflection  of  a  period,  when  the  vanity  of  earthly 
things  was  especially  impressed  by  the  decay  of  tlie 
Roman  Empire,  the  inroads  of  the  barbarians,  the 
growing  insecurity,  the  siege,  the  capture,  the  pillage 
of  Rome  itself,  and  when,  where  all  was  confusion 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  167 

and  desolation,  men  turned  to  God,  and  found  in  Him 
that  peace  which  the  world  could  not  give. 

After  the  Collect,  come  the  Scripture  Lessons,  where 
the  practice  of  the  ancient  Church  is  retained  in  chang- 
ing the  synagogue  lessons  of  the  Law  and  the  Prophets 
into  those  of  the  Uputle,  the  New  Testament  Law, 
and  the  Gospel,  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophets.     The 
selections  themselves  are  those  which  the  Reformers 
found  already  made  for  them.     But  various  portions 
of  the  Lutheran  Church  have  guarded  against  exces- 
sive rigidity  in   their   use,  by   providing  schemes  of 
supplementary  and  even  alteriiiitive  lessons.     So  well- 
adapted,  however,  are  the  Gospels  for  the  day  to  the 
end  of  presenting,  in   methodical    order,  within  the 
year,  the  chief  events  of  our  Lord's  life  on  earth,  and 
the  words  which  he  left  to  be  proclaimed,  that  they 
have  a  hold  upon  the   hearts  of   the  people  which, 
without  the  urgency  of  any  ecclesiastical  regulation, 
creates  the  demand  that  they  be,  in  general,  followed, 
and   renders   any   system    of   instruction   unpopular 
among  us,  that  attempts  to  completely  revolutionize 
this  order. 

The  Sermon  is  the  application  of  the  Word  that  is 
read.  The  lessons  are  not  determined  by  the  sermon 
that  is  to  be  preached ;  but  the  sermon  that  is  to  be 
preached  is,  as  a  rule,  determined  by  the  lessons.' 
The  sermon  is  supplementary  and  subordinate  to  the  ' 
reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

But,  before  proceeding  to  the  sermon,  and  dwelling 
upon  the  one  particular  aspect  of  truth  and  duty  pre- 


168  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

sented  by  the  day,  in  the  repetition  of  The  Creed,  a 
survey  is  first  taken  of  the  entire  scope  of  Christian 
doctrine.  While  theoretically  the  preference  is  given 
to  the  Nicene  Creed,  as  the  regula  jidei  of  the  ancient 
Church,  nevertheless,  in  general  usage,  except,  on  the 
Chief  Festivals  and  Communion  Sundays,  it  gives 
place  to  the  Apostles'  Creed,  as  that  which  is  better 
adapted  to  popular  use.  Following  it,  is  a  hymn, 
known  as  "  the  Hymn"  of  the  service,  as  it  is  intended 
to  particularly  express  the  thought  of  the  Lessons. 

While,  as  a  rule,  the  Sermon  is  upon  the  Gospel  or 
Epistle  for  the  day,  free  texts  are  often  used  as  cir- 
cumstances may  suggest  or  the  edification  of  the  con- 
gregation may  require. 

The  sermon  preached,  the  minister  descends  from 
the  pulpit,  where  he  has  stood  as  the  representative  of 
God  to  man,  and  goes  to  the  altar,  where  he  stands  as 
the  leader  of  the  congregation  and  one  of  their  num- 
ber, in  their  approach  to  God. 

What  is  called  The  Offertory  has  nothing,  except  its 
relative  place,  in  common  with  the  portion  of  the 
Roman  Mass  which  is  so  designated.  The  Fifty-first, 
or  another  penitential  psalm  is  chanted  here,  after  a 
custom  still  more  ancient  than  the  Roman  Offertory, 
as  the  expression  of  the  sense  of  sin  and  of  need  of 
forgiveness,  called  forth  by  the  Word  of  God  pro- 
claimed in  the  sermon,  and  as  the  declaration  of  the 
entire  consecration  of  the  people  to  the  Lord,  whose 
rights  have  just  been  asserted. 

The  General  Prayer,  which  follows,  is  not  a  mere 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  169 

r^sum^  or  application  of  the  sermon,  or  even  a  prayer 
whose  chief  contents  are  the  necessities  of  the 
worshipping  congregation.  At  every  stage  of  the 
service  up  to  this  point,  these  necessities  have  found 
expression.  ,The  purpose  of  the  General  Prayer  is 
that  through  it,  the  congregation  may  ask  God  that 
others  may  obtain  the  blessings  which  through  the 
Word  have  been  brought  to  them,  and  for  which  they 
have  given  thanks.  It  is  not  a  prayer  of  the  officiat- 
ing minister  for  the  congregation  to  which  he  has 
preached,  but  a  prayer  of  the  congregation  itself.) 
It  is  the  common  prayer  of  the  whole  people,  ex- 
pressed in  simple  and  well-known  words,  and  free, 
as  far  as  possible,  from  such  individual  peculiarities 
as,  by  inviting  criticism,  would  interfere  with  the 
intelligent  adoption  of  all  its  petitions  hj  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  in  the  audience,  in  whom  God's 
Spirit  has  enkindled  the  flame  of  devotion.  In  it,  the 
wants  of  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men  are  re- 
called, and  recounted  before  God. 

The  "  Long  Prayer,"  made  in  some  of  the  Reformed 
churches  before  the  sermon,  has  a  different  scope, 
since  the  adoration,  thanksgiving,  confession  of  sin, 
and  supplication  for  pardon  for  which  it  provides, 
have  been  previously  offered  to  God  in  the  Order 
which  we  are  explaining.  It  is  peculiarly  the  Inter- 
cessory Prayer  of  the  service.  A  place  is  found  in 
this  "  General  Prayer  "  for  the  introduction  of  "  spe- 
cial supplications,  intercessions,  and  prayers,"  as 
peculiar  circumstances  may  suggest  ]  but  as  to  other 


170  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

parts,  in  order  that  the  people  may  enter  with  the 
least  distraction  into  the  prayer,  it  is  urgently  recom- 
mended that,  whatever  variety  may  be  employed  in 
adapting  prayers  to  individual  wants  at  other  times, 
in  this  prayer  they  should  know  beforehand  not  only 
for  what,  but  also  in  what  words,  they  are  to  pray. 
The  aim  of  the  Lutheran  Reformers  of  the  service,  in 
this  respect,  is  stated  in  the  Wiirtemberg  Order  (one 
of  the  least  conservative),  where  it  is  said  :  "  Although 
the  Lord's  Prayer  is  in  itself  a  General  Prayer,  and 
should  always  have  the  preference,  as  a  brief  sum- 
mary of  all  other  Christian  prayers,  nevertheless, 
since  the  other  prayers  comprised  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, and  especially  in  the  Psalms,  or,  according  to 
present  necessities  derived  from  passages  of  Holy 
Scripture,  are  an  explanation  and  exposition  of  tlie 
Lord's  Prayer,  they  should  not  be  rejected,  but  be 
used,  at  the  proper  time,  in  connection  with  the 
Lord's  Prayer." 

The  entire  structure  of  ^'  the  General  Prayer,"  and, 
to  an  extent,  its  various  petitions,  have  reached  us  by 
a  clearly  traceable  historical  process.  When  Luther 
substituted  "  The  Lord's  Prayer  "  for  "  The  Offertory," 
and  prefaced  it  by  a  paraphrase,  explaining  its  peti- 
tions in  detail,  he  was  only  returning  to  an  older 
practice.  In  some  of  the  ancient  Oriental  liturgies, 
of  which  that  of  St.  James  was  a  type,  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  comply  with  the  Apostolic  command  that 
''  supplications,  prayers,  intercessions,  and  giving  of 
thanks  be  made  for  all  men  "  (1  Tim.  ii.  1),  by  a 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  171 

series  of  exhortations,  specifying  at  length  the  vari- 
ous objects  to  be  prayed  for,  as  in  the  Bidding  Prayer, 
to  which  the  people  replied  in  the  words,  "  Lord,  have 
mercy."  So  in  some  of  the  earlier  Lutheran  Orders, 
a  very  full  exliortation  of  a  similar  character  is  used 
as  a  preface  to  the  Lord's  Prayer.  Thus,  in  the 
Brunswick  Order,  prepared  by  Bugenhagen  in  1531  : 

^' Let  us  pray  for  his  Imperial  Majesty,  and  all  who 
bear  the  temporal  sword.  Pray  also  for  the  ministers 
who  feed  us  with  the  Word  of  God.  Pray  also  for  tem- 
poral peace,  for  the  sick,  the  weak,  the  sorrowing,  the 
tempted,  women  with  child,  for  our  enemies,  for  all  neces- 
sities of  body  and  soul.  Let  us  pray  for  one  another  that 
all  may  be  saved.     Let  us  unite  in  the  Lord's  Prayer." 

These  exhortations,  however,  being  themselves  em- 
bodied in  particular  collects  with  which  the  Church 
was  familiar,  these  collects  were  first  said  succes- 
sively, as  in  the  Brandenberg-Nurnberg  Order,  and, 
afterwards,  by  a  very  natural  process,  were  combined 
in  the  continuous  prayer,  which  is  found,  almost  as 
now  used,  in  the  Wiirtemberg  Order  of  1553. 

The  Consecration  coiisists  of  The  Lord's  Prayer,  the 
Words  of  Institution,  and  the  Pax.  The  consecration 
itself  lies  in  the  use  of  the  words  of  Institution,  the 
Lord's  Prayer  either  preceding  or  following  them,  as 
consecratory  of  the  communicants  in  their  approach 
to  this  mystery,  while  of  the  Pax  ("  The  peace  of  the 
Lord  be  with  you  alway"),  Luther  says:  "It  is  the 
voice  of  the  Gospel,  announcing  the  forgiveness  of 


172  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

sins,  and  is  the  only  and  most  worthy  preparation  for 
the  Lord's  Table." 

The  communicants  then  approach  the  altar  while 
the  Agnus  Lei  is  sung.  In  this  chant,  there  is  noth- 
ing to  justify  the  objection  that  it  is  connected  with 
the  doctrine  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  in  the  Mass. 
It  has  been  used  as  a  part  of  the  Gloria  in  JExcehis 
at  the  beginning  of  the  service;  and  its  repetition 
here,  where  the  minds  of  communicants  are  thus 
directed  to  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world,  is  most  appropriate  and  edifying. 
In  the  Distribution y  each  communicant  receives  di- 
rectly from  the  pastor  the  consecrated  elements, 
with  the  words  :  "  Take,  eat ;  this  is  the  Body  of 
Christ  given  for  thee.  Take  and  drink ;  this  is  the 
Blood  of  Christ,  shed  for  thy  sins^"  The  words, 
"  Given  for  thee,"  were  added  by  Luther  to  the  for- 
mula of  distribution,  in  accordance  with  his  statement 
that  in  them  lay  the  chief  stress  of  the  sacrament. 

The  rest  of  the  service  is  a  gradual  descent  from 
this  exalted  place,  where  weak  and  sinful  man  has 
been  admitted  into  the  holy  of  holies,  and  conversed 
almost  face  to  face  with  his  Redeemer  and  reconciled 
Father.  He  has  the  highest  joy  that  earth  can  afford, 
and  his  lips  pour  forth  the  song  of  Simeon,  "Lord, 
now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,"  and, 
after  a  thanksgiving  collect  composed  by  Luther,  he 
receives  the  patriarchal  benediction,  "  The  Lord  bless 
thee  and  keep  thee,"  which  was  precious  to  Luther, 
because  the  pronoun  is  in  the  singular  number.    As 


THE   LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  173 

the  congregation  disperses,  each  individual  departs  J  ? 
with  the  peace  of  God  in  his  heart,  and  the  liglit  of  ^ 
God's  countenance  resting  upon  him. 

The  other  church  services  hold  a  subordinate  char- 
acter, and  follow  the  Orders  for  matins  and  vespers. 
Their  aim  is  to  provide  for  the  systematic  contin- 
uous reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  accompanied  by 
Psalms,  hymns,  and  a  brief  exhortation.  They  trans- 
fer to  the  New  Testament  the  main  features  of  public 
worship,  in  which  our  Lord  himself  frequently  par- 
ticipated ill  the  synagogues  of  His  people.  The  struc- 
ture of  the  two  services  is  essentially  the  same.  They 
differ  chiefly  in  the  Psalms  used,  and  in  the  tone  of 
the  worship.  In  the  Matin  Service,  thanksgiving  pre- 
ponderates ;  while  in  the  Vesper  Service,  supplication. 
The  former  is  more  jubilant ;  the  latter  breathes  the 
spirit  of  humble  resignation  and  trust  in  the  divine 
mercy. 

Where  congregations,  however,  are  not  prepared  to 
use  these  fixed  orders  to  edification,  the  Lutheran 
Church  has  infinite  capacities  for  adapting  the  simple 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  to  their  varied  wants.  ('The 
service  is  used  as  a  means  to  an  end,  which,  like  all 
human  arrangements,  even  when  determined  by  com- 
pliance with  the  impulses  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  not 
an  absolute  finality.  ^  Fixed  orders  are  not  used,  as 
though  there  could  be  no  true  worship  without 
them ;  nor  are  historical  orders  repudiated,  as  though 
they  were  obsolete,  and  no  true  worship  could  be 
found  except  in  that  which  is  born  in  the  present 
moment. 


174  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

"  Of  Kites  and  Usages,  they  teacli/^  says  the  Augs- 
burg Confession  (Art.  XY.),  "  that  those  ought  to  be 
observed  wliich  may  be  observed  without  sin,  and 
which  are  profitable  unto  tranquillity.  .  .  .  Neverthe- 
less, concerning  such  things  let  men  be  admonished 
that  consciences  are  not  to  be  burdened  as  though 
such  observance  were  necessary  for  salvation." 

Each  age  has  its  peculiar  wants ;  and  for  each  age 
and  land  God  has  a  special  message.  The  Lutheran 
Church,  therefore,  while  turning  reverently  to  the 
sixteenth  century  to  find  there  the  basis  for  her  ser- 
vice, is  fully  conscious  that  she  cannot  rest  there, 
but  that  the  spirit  of  faith  must  mingle  with  the 
voices  of  believers  in  the  past,  the  sincere  expression 
of  her  own  peculiar  experiences  in  the  present.  Her 
liturgy,  like  her  hymn-book,  represents  all  ages  of 
the  Church,  and  must  continually  grow.  But  this 
growth  can  afford  permanent  results,  and  contribute 
to  general  edification,  only  as  it  proceeds  upon  a  well- 
established  historical  basis. 


THE  LUTHERAN  LITURGIES  175 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

The  followilig  bibliographical  list  does  not  attempt  to  be  ex- 
haustive. It  aims  simply  at  giving  some  of  the  cliief  works  ser- 
viceable to  a  student,  who  may  desire  to  pursue  the  subject  further  : 

Daniel,  11.  A.  D.,  Codex  Hturgicus  Ecdesice  Universce.  4  vols., 
Leipzig,  1847.     (Vol.  II.  for  Lutheran  liturgies.) 

Kliefoth,  Th.,  Liturgische  Abhandlungen,  Schwerin,  1854,  2d  ed. 
1868,  8  vols.  (The  first  five  volumes  treat  of  Die  Urspriinglkhe 
Gottesdienst-Ordnung  in  den  deutschen  Kirchen  lutherischen  Bekennt- 
nisses,  Hire  Destruction  und  Reformation.) 

Schoberlein,  L.,  Ueber  den  liturgischen  Aushau  des  Gemeindegottes- 
dienstes  in  der  deutschen  evangelischen  Kirche.     Gotha,  1859. 

Schoberlein,  L.,  Schatz  des  liturgischen  Chor-  nnd  Gemeindegesangs 
nebst  den  Altarwesen  in  der  deutschen  evangelischen  Kirche  aus  den 
Quellen  vornehmlich  des  IGten  und  \1ten  Jahrhunderts  geschopft. 
3  vols. 

Jacoby,  H.,  Die  Liturgik  der  Reformatoren.  2  vols.,  Gotha,  1876. 
(Vol.  L  Luther;  Vol.  11.  Melanchthon.) 

Lohe,  W.,  Agende  fiir  Christliche  Gemeinden  des  lutherischen 
Bekenntnisses.  3d  ed.,  "enlarged  by  J.  Deinzer.  Nordlingen,  1884. 
(Valuable  for  its  introductions  and  notes.) 

Kostliu,  H.  A.  F.,  Geschichte  des  Christlichen  Gottesdienstes. 
Freiburg,  1887. 

Harnack,  Th.,  Outline  of  Liturgies  in  Zockler's  Handbuch  der 
theologischen  Wissenschaften.     3d  edition,  Munchen,  1890. 

Cantionale  fur  die  evangelisch  lutherischen  Kirchen  im  Grossher- 
zogthum  Mecklenburg-Schiverin.     4  vols.,  folio,  Schwerin,  1886-1887. 

Hoflino-,  J.  H.  F.,  Liturgische  Urkundenbuch,  enthaltend  die  Akte 
der  Communion,  der  Ordination  und  Introduction,  und  der  Trauung. 
Leipzig,  1852. 

Nitzsch,  Praktische  Theologie.     2  vols.,  Bonn,  1851. 

Zezschwitz,  Praktische  Theologie.     Leipzig,  1878. 

Siona,  A  Monthly,  devoted  to  Liturgies  and  Church  Music,  pub- 
lished since  at  Giitersloh  (Schoberlein,  Herold,  Kriiger). 

Above  all,  Richter,  A.  E.  L.,  Die  evangelischen  Kirchenordnungen 
des  sechszehnten  Jahrhunderts.  2  vols.,  Weimar,  1846.  Contains  most 
of  the  chief  Lutheran  liturgies  of  the  period  from  1523-1598. 

The  Originals  in  large  number  may  be  found  in  the  Liturgical 
Library  at  Mt.  Airy,  Philadelphia. 


VI 

THE  LITURGIES  OF  THE  REFORMED 
CHURCHES 

By  the  Rev.  WILLIAM  RUPP,  D.D. 

Professor  of  Practical  Theology  in  the  Reformed  Theological  Seminary ^ 
Lancaster,  Pa. 


12 


THE  LITURGIES  OF  THE  REFORMED 
CHURCHES 

T^HERE  exists  an  intimate  relation  between  reli- 
gious doctrine  and  worship,  or  between  creed 
and  liturgy.  Worship  is  the  expression  and  action 
of  faith,  and  faith  is  the  root  and  motive  of  worship. 
Religious  faith  will  always  create  a  system  of  wor- 
ship corresponding  to  its  own  character;  and  any 
system  of  religious  rites  and  ceremonies  will  in  time 
give  rise  to  a  corresponding  creed.  Hence  the 
Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century  was  bound  to 
be  equally  a  reformation  of  worship  and  of  doctrine. 
The  Reformers  were  all  agreed  as  to  the  necessity 
of  a  reformation  in  worship.  The  existing  abuses 
and  superstitions  excited  their  profoundest  indigna- 
tion and  horror.  The  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  espe- 
cially, and  the  idolatrous  worship  of  the  saints  and 
angels,  were,  in  their  view,  the  very  abomination  of 
desolation,  now  standing  permanently  in  the  temple 
of  God.  That  these  abuses  must  be  removed  and 
the  existing  order  of  worship  reformed,  was  a  propo- 
sition to  which  all  the  Reformers  were  agreed.  But 
they  differed  somewhat  in  the  manner  in  which  they 


180  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

carried  out  the  work  of  reformation ;  and  so  we  come 
to  have  different  orders  of  worship  in  different  parts 
of  the  Protestant  Church.  In  this  respect  there  is 
a  general  difference  between  the  churches  of  the 
Lutheran  and  those  of  the  Reformed  confessions. 

This  difference  is  usually  expressed  by  the  propo- 
sition that  the  Lutherans  were  the  more  conservative 
and  the  Reformed  the  more  radical  in  the  work  of 
reformation.  The  principle  adopted  by  the  Luth- 
eran reformers,  it  is  usually  said,  was  to  reject  noth- 
^ing  in  the  cultus  of  the  Catholic  Church  that  was 
\l  not  repugnant  to  some  express  statement  of  the 
^Bible;  while  the  principle  adopted  by  the  Reformed 
/i/was  to  accept  nothing  that  could  not  be  supported  by 
direct  Scriptural  authority.  Both  parties  made 
Scripture  the  rule  of  their  reforming  activity;  but 
they  applied  this  rule  with  varying  degrees  of  strict- 
ness, and  hence  there  arose  a  difference  in  their 
work.  With  some  reservation  this  representation 
may  be  accepted  as  correct.  In  reconstructing  their 
worship,  the  Reformed  churches  were  guided  less  by 
the  principle  of  tradition  and  more  by  the  principle 
of  Scripture,  than  the  Lutheran  Church.  Hence  the 
Reformed  liturgies  are  characterized  by  a  greater 
degree  of  simplicity  and  unadorned  grandeur,  but 
also,  in  proportion  as  they  drew  upon  the  Old  Testa- 
ment for  their  material,  by  something  of  a  legalistic 
and  Judaistic  tone,  which  the  student  of  liturgies 
will  not  fail  to  notice.  Nevertheless  they  all  show 
evidence,  more  or  less  plainly,  of  their  origin  in  the 


LITURGIES  OF  THE  REFORMED   CHURCHES    181 

old  order  of  worship,  and  thus  of  their  connection 
with  the  past  history  and  life  of  the  Church.  The 
Reformed  churches  are  not  unhistorical  creations  of 
the  sixteenth  century;  but  in  doctrine  and  worship 
they  are  rooted  in  the  old  order  of  Christian  life  and 
action  within  the  fields  in  which  they  originated. 

The  Reformed  liturgies  may  be  divided  into  three 
distinct  families  or  groups,  —  namely,  the  Zivinglian, 
the  Calvi7iistic^  and  the  Calvino-Melanclithonian,  or 
the  Swiss,  French,  and  German;  the  Scotch  and 
English  belonging  to  the  second  of  these  groups. 
They  all  possess  certain  elements  in  common,  but 
differ  in  special  features,  according  to  their  national 
and  historical  relations.  One  common  feature  of  all 
Reformed  liturgies,  for  instance,  consists  in  this, 
that  the  public  services  of  God  are  divided  into  two 
kinds,  namely,  preaeldng  services  and  communion 
services.  In  the  old  Catholic  Church  the  Eucharist 
formed  an  essential  part  of  every  Lord's  day  service. 
In  the  mediaeval  Church  the  sermon  was  suppressed, 
and  the  Eucharist,  which  was  now  regarded  as  a 
sacrifice  for  the  living  and  the  dead,  came  to  be  the 
chief,  indeed  almost  the  only,  part  of  Christian 
cultus.  The  sacrifice,  however,  was  not  a  service 
rendered  by  the  congregation,  but  by  the  priesthood 
in  behalf  of  the  congregation.  And  it  could  be 
effectually  rendered  without  the  presence  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  without  any  communicants.  But  this 
was  no  longer  the  case  when  the  idea  of  a  propitia- 
tory sacrifice  in  the  Mass  was  rejected,  and  when  the 


182  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

Eucharist  was  again  transformed  into  a  common  ser- 
vice of  the  congregation,  as  it  had  been  in  primitive 
times.  In  the  Protestant  sense  there  can  be  no  com- 
munion service  without  communicants.  Nor  is  the 
idea  of  a  common  congregational  service  realized, 
when  a  few  only  of  the  congregation  participate  in 
the  transaction,  while  the  majority  are  mere  spec- 
tators of  the  solemn  show.  But  the  Reformers  soon 
discovered  that  it  was  not  possible  to  cause  an  entire 
congregation  to  be  present,  and  get  them  to  partici- 
pate in  the  communion  service  on  every  Lord's  day. 
What,  then,  was  to  be  done?  Luther  proposed  to 
let  the  communion  service  stand  as  a  part  of  the 
service  of  every  Lord's  day,  but  to  make  optional 
the  participation  in  it  by  the  people.  Both  sides  of 
the  Reformation  agreed  that  the  ministration  of  the 
divine  word,  the  preaching  of  the  sermon,  is  the  cen- 
rtral  and  essential  part  of  public  worship;  and  Luther 
went  so  far  on  one  occasion  as  to  say,  that  there  is 
no  use  in  Christian  assemblies  where  there  is  noth- 
ing but  prayer  and  singing,  and  where  no  sermon  is 
preached.  But  Luther,  nevertheless,  proposed  to  let 
the  Lord's  Supper  remain  as  an  appendix  at  least  to 
every  public  service  on  the  Lord's  day.  If  at  any 
time  there  should  be  no  communicants  from  among  the 
people,  the  ministers  could  commune,  and  it  would 
still  be  the  communion.  This,  although  a  violation 
of  the  general  Protestant  principle,  that  all  acts  of 
public  worship  must  be  common  acts  of  the  congrega- 
tion, was  adopted  at  first  as  the  rule  of  the  Lutheran 


r 


LITURGIES  OF  THE  REFORMED   CHURCHES    183 

Church,  —  a  rule,  however,  it  should  be  added,  that 
did  not  maintain  itself  very  long  in  Lutheran  cultus. 
Calvin  was  at  first  disposed  to  retain  the  celebration 
of  the  communion  in  every  Lord's  day  service  accord- 
ing to  primitive  custom,  and  to  require  the  presence 
and  participation  of  the  whole  congregation  on  every 
occasion.     He  soon  found,  however,  that  this  was  a 
demand   which  could  not   be   exacted;    and   subse-, 
quently,  w^hile  expressing  his  preference  for  at  leasts 
a  monthly  communion,  he  agreed  to  the  rule,  which 
Zwingli  had  already  introduced  at  Zurich,  of  cefe- 
brating  four  communions  in  the  year,  namely,    at  y 
Christmas,   Easter,   Whitsunday,  and  some  Sunday 
in  the  fall.      This  came  to  be  the  order  subsequently 
in  most  of  the  Reformed  churches.     Thus  the  com- 
munion  service   was   separated   from   the   ordinary   .^ 
Lord's  day  service,  and  the  latter  came  to  have  its  Ij 
chief  interest,  its  centre  of  gravity,  in  the  sermon.  '^ 
This  arrangement,  though  a  departure  from  all  past 
liturgical  traditions,  was  doubtless  justified  by  the 
circumstances  of  the  times,  and  could  moreover  claim 
a  precedent  in  the  practice  of  the  Apostolic  Church. 
In  the  early  period  of  the  Apostolic  Church   there 
were  two  kinds  of  Christian  assemblies  for  worship, 
the   one   occurring  in  the  temple  and  other  public 
localities,  where  nothing  took  place  but  prayer  and 
the   preaching  of  the   Gospel,   the   other   occurring 
mostly  at  night  in  private  houses,  where  the  Lord's 
Supper  was  partaken  and  the  love-feast  celebrated. 
The  former  might  be  called  homiletic,  or  perhaps 


v/ 


184  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

better,  evangelistic,  and  the  latter  cucharistic  ser- 
vices. This  difference  still  existed  at  Corinth  at  the 
time  when  the  Corinthian  Epistles  were  written. 
Agreeably  to  the  modification  of  the  constitution  of 
divine  service  made  by  the  Reformers,  the  liturgy^ 
which  previously  signified  the  order  of  celebrating  the 
Eucharist,  now  came  to  signify  for  the  most  part 
merely  the  order  of  beginning  and  closing  sermons. 
A  liturgy,  of  course,  contains  other  offices,  like  those 
for  the  administration  of  baptism,  of  confirmation, 
of  ordination  and  installation,  and  so  forth ;  but  the 
office  for  the  conduct  of  public  worship  forms  its 
principal  feature  and  determines  its  character. 

The  first  formal  attempt  at  a  reconstruction  of  the 
order  of  Christian  worship  according  to  Reformed 
principles  was  made  at  Zurich,  in  the  year  1523,  by 
the  composition  and  publication  by  Leo  Judse,  at  the 
request  of  Zwingli,  of  an  Order  of  Baptism,  to 
which  was  attached  an  Order  for  the  Beginning  and 
Closing  of  Sermons.  This  title  is  indicative  of  the 
change  which  had  taken  place  in  the  conception  of 
the  liturgy.  The  order  here  laid  down  is  very  sim- 
ple, merely  containing  directions  for  prayer,  which 
is  to  be  made  for  the  right  understanding  of  God's 
word,  for  Christian  pastors,  for  secular  authorities, 
and  for  those  who  are  in  tribulation,  directions  for 
the  commemoration  of  those  who  have  recently  de- 
parted this  life,  whose  names  are  announced  at  the 
beginning  of  the  service,  and  directions  for  a  general 
confession  of  sin.     This  is  in  fact  a  directory  rather 


LITURGIES  OF  THE  REFORMED   CHURCHES    185 

than  an  order  of  worship;  and  even  as  a  directory  it 
is  incomplete,  and  was  in  practice  doubtless  supple- 
mented by  additional  forms.  It  was  unsatisfactory, 
and  did  not  long  maintain  itself. 

In  1525  a  new  Order  of  Worship  was  established 
at  Zurich  by  public  authority.  It  contains  forms 
for  the  beginning  and  ending  of  sermons,  for  the 
administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  for  the  solemni- 
zation of  marriage,  and  for  the  burial  of  the  dead. 
The  ordinary  preaching  service  begins  with  a  votum : 
"  Grace,  mercy,  and  peace  be  unto  you, "  etc.  Then 
comes  the  singing  of  a  psalm  or  hymn.  After  this 
we  have  an  exhortation  to  prayer  for  the  presence  and 
illuminating  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  order  to 
the  right  understanding  of  God's  word ;  and  this  is 
followed  by  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  then  the  general 
intercessory  prayer.  After  this  comes  the  reading 
of  Scripture,  which  may  be  a  passage  from  the  Old 
or  New  Testament  selected  by  the  minister,  accord- 
ing to  his  inclination  or  judgment.  The  system  of 
pericopes  is  abandoned.  After  the  reading  of  Scrip- 
ture follows  the  sermon.  And  the  sermon  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  general  confession  of  sin,  a  prayer  of 
thanksgiving,  ending  with  the  Lord's  prayer,  the 
publication  of  the  banns  of  marriage,  and  of  the 
names  of  any  deceased  members  of  the  Church,  an 
exhortation  to  almsgiving  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor, 
and  the  benediction. 

The  communion  service  contained  in  this  Reformed 
Zurich  liturgy  was  prepared  by  Zwingli  himself,  and 


186  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

used  for  the  first  time  on  Easter  Sunday,  in  the  year 
1525.  It  follows  pretty  closely  the  order  of  the 
canon  of  the  Gregorian  Mass.  After  the  conclusion 
of  the  sermon,  the  minister  is  directed  to  stand  at 
the  table  containing  the  sacramental  elements,  and 
turning  his  face  to  the  people,  he  is  to  say  with  a 
loud  voice,  "  In  the  name  of  the  *Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  to  which  his  attend- 
ants are  to  answer,  "Amen."  Then  is  to  be  said 
/  the  introit,  or  invocation,  a  short  prayer  beginning 
with  the  words:  "Almighty  and  everlasting  God, 
whom  all  creatures  justly  worship  and  adore,"  etc. 
This  is  to  be  followed  by  the  reading  of  the  account 
of  the  institution  of  the  Supper  in  1  Cor.  xi.  20-29, 
at  the  conclusion  of  which  the  congregation  responds : 
" God  be  praised."  After  this  the  Gloria  in  ExceUis 
is  recited  antiphonally  by  the  men  and  the  women 
in  the  congregation.  Then  the  minister  says:  "The 
Lord  be  with  you,"  and  the  people  answer:  "And 
with  thy  spirit."  Next  the  minister  announces  the 
reading  of  another  Scripture  lesson,  namely,  John 
vi.  47-63,  which  announcement  the  congregation  re- 
ceives with  the  response:  "  God  be  praised."  After 
the  reading  the  minister  kisses  the  Bible,  and  sa3^s : 
"  Laud  be  to  God,  who  according  to  His  holy  word 
will  forgive  us  all  our  sins, "  and  the  people  respond, 
"Amen."  This  is  followed  by  the  antiphonal  recita- 
tion of  the  Apostles'  Creed.  After  the  creed  comes 
an  address  by  the  minister,  in  which  the  communi- 
cants are  exhorted  to  penitence,   to  faith,   and  to 


LITURGIES  OF  THE  REFORMED   CHURCHES    187 

prayer.  Then  the  congregation  kneels,  and  the 
Lord's  Prayer  is  repeated,  after  which  another  prayer 
is  offered  by  the  minister  for  the  divine  blessing  and 
for  the  grace  of  sanctification,  to  which  the  people 
respond,  "Amen."  After  this  follows  the  consecra- 
tion of  the  elements  by  means  of  the  words  of  insti- 
tution and  the  breaking  of  the  bread.  The  elements 
are  then  distributed  by  the  deacons  to  the  members 
of  the  congregation,  who  are  kneeling  in  their  pews. 
After  all  have  communed,  the  113th  Psalm  is  recited, 
the  minister  repeating  the  first  verse,  and  then  the 
men  and  women  reading  antiphonally  to  the  end. 
Another  short  collect  together  with  the  benediction 
closes  the  service. 

'■■■  It  will  be  observed  that  this  whole  communion 
service  is  an  action  of  the  congregation,  not  an 
action  of  the  minister  in  the  stead  or  in  behalf  of 
the  congregation.  But  it  will  be  observed  also  that 
there  is  here  a  striking  contrast  between  the  compar- 
ative richness  of  the  communion  service  and  the, 
l)aldness  of  the  ordinary  preaching  service.  This  is 
due  doubtless  to  the  lingering  influence  of  mediaeval 
tradition.  In  the  mediseval  Church  the  liturgy  or 
divine  service,  as  we  have  already  seen,  meant  essen- 
tially the  offering  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass;  and 
of  this  preaching  was  not  a  part.  What  preaching 
there  was  then  took  place  at  irregular  times,  and  was 
not  accompanied  by  any  special  ceremonies.  Preach- 
ing was  not  a  regular  and  constitutional  part  of 
divine   cultus.     This  conception  still  exercised  its 


188  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

influence  upon  the  Reformers.  Though  the  office  of 
preaching  was  the  chief  instrument  in  the  work  of 
the  Reformation,  yet  the  Reformers  found  it  difficult 
at  first  to  give  it  its  right  setting  in  the  general  cultus 
of  the  Church.  The  idea  of  the  liturgy  was  still 
associated  mainly  with  the  communion  service,  and 
the  office  of  preaching  stood  out  by  itself  without  any 
support  from  the  liturgy.  Of  course  this  relation 
could  not  long  continue.  The  communion  service, 
with  its  comparative  wealth  of  ceremony,  occurred 
only  seldom,  while  the  office  of  preaching,  with  its 
liturgical  baldness  and  poverty,  was  performed  not 
only  on  every  Sunday,  but  often  also  on  week  days. 
Accordingly,  the  subsequent  development  of  the 
Reformed  liturgies  in  Switzerland  pertained  espe- 
cially to  the  ordinary  service  of  the  sermon.  This 
needed  to  be  enriched  and  made  more  popular.  The 
idea  of  the  communion  service  as  being  essentially 
an  action  of  the  whole  congregation,  needed  to  be 
extended  also  to  the  preaching  service.  This  end 
was  accomplished  to  some  extent  by  the  introduction 
of  additional  forms  of  common  prayer,  and  espe- 
cially by  the  introduction  of  congregational  singing. 
The  office  of  congregational  singing  did  not  exist  in 
the  Catholic  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages.  This 
office  had  to  be  created  by  the  Reformation;  and 
this  was  a  work  that  could  only  be  accomplished 
gradually.  But  it  was  the  larger  extension  of  this 
office  in  the  preaching  service,  and  the  introduction 
of  additional  forms  of  prayer  in  which  the  people 


LITURGIES  OF  THE  REFORMED   CHURCHES    189 

could  take  part,  that  distinguishes  the  later  liturgies 
of  the  Zwinglian  type  from  that  which  was  originally 
established  at  Zurich.  The  Zwinglian  type,  how- 
ever, has  maintained  itself  in  the  various  liturgies 
or  agendas  of  the  Swiss  churches  down  to  the  pres- 
ent day.  Zwingli's  spirit  still  lives  in  the  Swiss 
churches.  y^ 

The  liturgies  of  the  Calvinistic  churches  have  their 
type  in  Calvin's  "Forms  of  Common  Prayer,"  pub-  ^ 
lished  in  1545,  as  an  appendix  to  the  Geneva  Cate- 
chism,   and    afterwards    used   in    the   churches   of 
Geneva.       "Calvin,"    says   Henry,   his   biographer, 
"regarded  it  as  most  important,  for  the  safety  of  the 
Church,   to  establish  a  durable  order  through  imi- 
formity  in  liturgical  rites,   and  thereby  to  oppose 
effectually  the  Vv^ilfulness  of  individuals.     But  even 
here  he  would  suffer  nothing  which  was  not  in  strict 
conformity  with  the   Scriptures.     He  in  all  things 
exhibited  the  purest  antagonism  to  Rome;    and  as 
the  papists  made  the  central  point  of  their  religious 
service  the  Mass,  a  miracle  invented  by  men,  so  Cal-  ) 
vin   employed   the   exposition  of  the   Bible  as   the, 
middle    point   of    the    devotions   of    his    Church "' 
(Henry's  "Life  of  Calvin,"  vol.    i.   p.  410).     It  is,"^ 
then,  not  Calvinistic,  in  the  sense  of  Calvin  himself 
at  least,  to  reject  all  fixed  forms  of  prayer  as  popish 
fetters  of   devotion.     This  Calvin  did  not  do,  and 
would  most  likely  not  approve  in  his  followers.     But 
Calvin  was  the  most  radical  of  the  Reformers  in  all 
things  relating  to  cultus.     At  least  such  is  the  usual 


190  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

judgment  of  history.  While  Zwingli,  according  to 
Ebrard,  may  be  said  to  have  removed  too  little  of  the 
old  order  of  worship  to  gain  room  for  things  new, 
Calvin,  on  the  other  hand,  found  everything  that 
was  old  cleared  out  of  the  v/ay,  and  the  ground  pre- 
pared for  an  entirely  nev/  liturgical  creation.  Farel, 
who  had  preceded  Calvin  at  Geneva,  had  abolished 
the  whole  order  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  in 
cultus  had  left  nothing  remaining  but  the  sermon, 
which  stood  out  in  entire  isolation  and  nakedness. 
Here,  then,  there  was  room  for  the  architectonic 
skill  of  the  great  Reformer;  and  the  result  shows 
that  his  skill  was  indeed  of  a  superior  order.  It 
should  be  observed,  however,  that  Calvin's  work  was 
after  all  not  a  creation  out  of  nothing.  Calvin  was 
evidently  familiar  with  liturgical  history.  He  was 
acquainted  with  the  forms  of  worship  in  primitive 
times.  And  his  soul  was  saturated  with  the  spirit 
of  worship  which  prevailed  in  the  best  ages  of  the 
Church,  —  a  qualification  without  which  no  one  will 
ever  be  able  to  produce  a  liturgy  that  shall  be 
worthy  of  the  name.  He  may  have  been  somewhat 
too  coldly  intellectual  in  temper  to  produce  an  ideal 
liturgy ;  but  he  was  at  least  not  ignorant  of  liturgical 
practices,  and  was  willing,  moreover,  to  retain  in 
use  the  best  elements  of  the  old  order,  such  as  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  the  Apostles'  Creed,  and  so  forth. 

Calvin's  originality  in  the  treatment  of  the  order 
of  worship,  hov^ever,  is  shown  in  the  very  beginning 
of  his   common   service  for  the  Lord's  day.     This 


LITURGIES   OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCHES    l9l 

service  begins,  as  in  the  primitive  Church,  with  the 
reading  by  an  assistant  of  selections  of  Scripture  from 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  together  with  the  Ten 
Commandments.     After   this   the   minister,  having 
taken  his  place  in  the  pulpit,  begins  with  an  invo- 
cation.    Then  he  addresses  to  the  congregation  an 
exhortation   to   the   confession   of   sin,  and   invites 
them  to  follow  him  in  their  hearts  while  he  makes 
use  of  a  form  of  confession,  which  has  become  the 
type  of  confessional  prayer  in  a  number   of   later 
liturgies.     Such  a  beginning  with  confession  of  sin, 
however  appropriate  in  itself,  is  something  new  in 
the  history  of  worship.     No  ancient  liturgy  begins  in 
this  way  —  not  even  the  Sarum  Missal.     And  yet  it 
is  the  way  in  which  the  service  begins  in  the  Book 
of  Common  Prayer  of  the  Church  of  England.     But 
this  is  only  one  of  the   many  traces  of  Calvinistic 
influence  in  that  wonderful  work.     After  the  con- 
fession  of  sin,  in  Calvin's  Order,  a  psalm  is  to  be 
sung  by  the  whole  congregation.      A  psalm  is  pre- 
scribed,  not  because  Calvin  had  any  objection  to 
suitable  hymns  of  extra-Scriptural   origin,  but   be- 
cause  there   were   then   no   suitable   hymns  in   the 
French   language.     Luther  was  a  poet  of  no  small 
power,  and  exercised  his  talent  in  the  composition 
of  hymns  fit  to  be  sung  in  the  German  churches. 
But  poets  are  born,  not  made;  and  Calvin  was  not 
only  himself  not  born  with  much  poetical  talent,  but 
neither  had   he   a   man  at  his  side  who  was  thus 
endowed.     The  best,  therefore,  that  he  could  do  was 


■y 


192  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

to  employ  the  talents  of  Marot  and  Beza  in  turning 
the  Psalms  into  metrical  French,  so  that  they  could 
be  sung  by  the  congregations  until  something  better 
could  be  offered  them.  After  the  singing  of  the 
psalm  the  minister  again  leads  in  a  prayer  for  the 
illumination  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  the  end  that 
the  word  of  God  may  be  rightly  expounded  and 
rightly  received;  which  ends  with  the  Lord's  Prayer. 
After  this  comes  the  sermon ;  and  after  the  sermon 
follows  a  general  prayer  of  intercession,  for  rulers, 
for  pastors,  for  all  conditions  of  men,  for  afflicted 
persons,  for  persecuted  Christians,  and  finally  for 
the  congregation  itself.  This  again  concludes  with 
the  Lord's  Prayer;  and  after  the  Lord's  Prayer  fol- 
lows the  creed.  The  service  ends  with  the  Aaronic 
benediction,  an  exhortation  to  remember  the  poor^ 
and  the  dismission. 

We  have  already  seen  that,  according  to  the  order 
adopted  at  Geneva,  the  Lord's  Supper  was  celebrated 
four  times  a  year,  namely,  at  the  three  Christian 
festivals  of  Christmas,  Easter,  and  Pentecost,  and 
on  some  Sunday  in  autumn.  A  public  announce- 
ment of  the  communion  is  to  be  made  on  the  Sunday 
before  its  celebration,  so  that  the  people  may  have 
time  for  proper  preparation.  On  the  day  of  the 
communion  it  is  directed  that  the  sermon  should 
have  reference,  either  in  whole  or  in  part,  to  the 
signification  and  benefit  of  this  mystery.  After  the 
sermon,  in  addition  to  the  usual  intercessory  prayer 
and  the  succeeding  Lord's  Prayer,  a  special  prayer 


LITURGIES   OF  THE  REFORMED   CHURCHES    193 

is  offered,  asking   God  for  the   grace  required  for 
the  right  and  worthy  celebration  of  the  sacrament. 
This  is  followed  by  the  Apostles'  Creed.     After  the 
creed  comes  a  lengthy  exhortation  to  the  communi- 
cants, in  which  they  are  further  instructed  in  regard 
to  the  nature  and  meaning  of  the  sacrament,  and  in 
regard  to  the  necessary  qualification  for  its  salutary 
reception.     After  a  general  sentence  of  excommuni- 
cation pronounced  against  all  idolaters,  blasphemers, 
despisers  of  God,  heretics,  sectarians,  and  similarly 
impious  persons,  the  objective  character  of  the  sacra- 
ment is  explained.     It  is  declared  to  be  as  a  medi- 
cine for  those  who  are  spiritually  sick;  and  in  order 
to  the  duo  reception  of  its  benefit,  there  is  nothing 
required  on  the  part  of  the  communicants  but  a  lively 
consciousness  of  their  sinfulness  and  misery.     The 
benefit  of  the  sacrament,  however,  is  not  connected 
with  the  elements  of  bread  and  wine.     These   are 
only  witnesses  and  signs.     The   communicants  are 
exhorted  to  lift  up  their  minds  and  hearts  on  high, 
where  Jesus  Christ  abides  in  the  glory  of  His  Father, 
that  from  thence  they  may  obtain  food  and  life  from 
the  substance  of  Christ's   glorified   being.     This  is 
doubtless  all  very  correct  in  a  dogmatic  point  of  view. 
It  is  a  clear  repudiation  of  the  theories  of  transub- 
stantiation    and    consiibstantiation,    and   a   distinct 
affirmation  of  the  doctrine  of  a  spiritual  real  presence 
of   Christ  in  the  sacrament.     The  only  question  is 
whether  this  is  the  right  place  for  such  instruction. 
Does  not  this   rather  ])elong  to   the  sermon?     The 

13 


194  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

Sursum  Corda  of  the  older  liturgies,  of  which  we  are 
reminded  by  some  of  the  expressions  used  in  this 
address,  is  after  all  something  quite  different.  That 
is  a  spiritual  and  devotional  action;  this  is  only  an 
act  of  intellectual  reflection  which,  in  the  light  of 
correct  liturgical  principles,  could  hardly  be  said  to 
be  appropriate  just  before  the  most  solemn  part  of 
the  whole  sacramental  transaction,  namely,  the 
participation  of  the  communion  itself.  The  distribu- 
tion of  the  communion  takes  place  at  a  long  table, 
y>^hich  stands  in  the  central  aisle  or  nave  of  the 
church,  and  along  which  the  communicants  arc 
ranged.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  address  just  re- 
ferred to,  the  minister  takes  his  place  at  the  head  of 
the  table ;  and  taking  up  the  bread  before  him,  and 
repeating  the  words  of  institution,  he  breaks  off 
pieces  and  hands  them  to  the  elders  on  his  right  and 
left ;  these  then  take  up  the  bread  and  pass  it  along 
the  table,  each  communicant  with  his  ov>ii  hand 
breaking  off  a  small  portion,  and  reverently  eating 
it.  In  like  manner  the  cup  is  passed  along  from  one 
communicant  to  another.  While  the  communion  thus 
proceeds,  a  psalm  may  be  sung,  or  a  portion  of 
Scripture  read.  After  all  have  communed,  there  is 
offered  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving,  the  iVim<?  Dimitiis  is 
sung,  and  the  congregation  is  dismissed  with  the 
apostolic  benediction. 

Besides  the  forms  now  mentioned,  Calvin's  liturgy 
contains  offices  for  the  administration  of  baptism, 
the  solemnization  of  marriage,  and  the  visitation  of 


LITURGIES   OF  THE  REFORMED   CHURCHES    195 

the  sick,  as  well  as  prayers  for  morning  and  evening 
devotion,  prayers  for  use  before  and  after  meals,  and 
prayers  for  times  of  public  calamity.  Of  these  no 
particular  account  can  here  be  given.  These  litur- 
gical forms  of  Calvin  became  the  type  of  the  various 
orders  of  worship  in  the  Reformed  churches  of 
France,  Holland,  Scotland,  and  parts  of  Germany. 
"The  Book  of  Common  Order"  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland  was  first  framed,  in  1554,  by  John  Knox, 
for  the  English  congregation  at  Frankfort.  In  1556, 
it  was  adopted  by  the  English  congregation  at  Geneva 
with  the  approbation  of  Calvin.  Upon  the  return  of 
Knox  to  Scotland,  his  Order  of  V/orship  was  adopted 
there  by  the  General  Assembly  in  1560,  as  the  estab- 
lished order  of  worship.  It  continued  to  be  used 
until  it  was  displaced  by  the  Directory  of  Worship 
of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  in  1645.  The  Com- 
mon Order  was  modelled  closely  after  the  Calvin- 
istic  original,  though  in  devotional  unction  and 
fervor  it  probably  excelled  it.  In  the  Lord's  day 
service  we  have  first  a  confession  of  sin ;  then  the 
reading  of  Scripture  by  the  minister,  and  the  sing- 
ing of  a  psalm  by  the  congregation.  After  this 
comes  the  sermon,  and  after  the  sermon  a  general 
prayer  for  the  whole  estate  of  Christ's  Church,  end- 
ing with  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Apostles'  Creed. 
After  the  creed  another  psalm  is  sung,  and  the  con- 
gregation is  dismissed  either  with  the  Aaronic  or 
the  apostolic  benediction.  When  the  Lord's  Supper 
is  celebrated,  which  is  directed  to  be  done  once  a 


196  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

month,  there  comes,  after  the  part  of  the  service 
usually  following  the  sermon,  an  address  to  the  com- 
municants, instructing  them  in  regard  to  the  nature 
of  the  sacrament  and  of  the  necessity  of  a  proper 
preparation  of  the  heart  for  rightly  receiving  it. 
This  is  in  a  tone  somewhat  less  didactic  and  more 
fervently  devotional  than  that  belonging  to  the  same 
part  of  the  service  in  the  liturgy  of  Geneva.  The 
address  is  followed  by  a  prayer,  which  reminds  one 
somewhat  of  the  preface  of  the  old  Greek  liturgies. 
It  is  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving  for  God's  goodness, 
as  displayed  in  the  works  of  creation  and  redemp- 
tion, and  as  it  is  witnessed  especially  in  the  institu- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Supper  for  the  benefit  of  unworthy 
sinners.  After  this  follows  the  distribution  of  the 
elements  in  Calvinistic  fashion.  When  all  have 
communed,  the  I03d  Psalm  is  sung,  and  the  congre- 
gation is  dismissed  with  the  benediction. 

One  of  the  best  liturgies  of  the  Reformed  Church  of 
France  is  that  of  Neufchatel.  It  was  formed  and 
adopted  in  1713,  and  belongs,  therefore,  not  to  the 
age  of  the  Reformation.  But  it  is  important  as  indi- 
cating the  direction  of  liturgical  development  in  the 
land  of  Calvin  himself  in  post-Reformation  times. 
At  the  time  of  its  formation  there  was  a  felt  need  of 
a  larger  number  of  spiritual  hymns  fit  for  use  in 
divine  service,  and  an  effort  was  made  to  supply  this 
need  by  the  addition  to  the  Psalms  of  a  number  of 
canticles,  which  may  be  chanted  or  read  according 
to  circumstances.     What  may  be  called  the  compar- 


LITURGIES  OF  THE  REFORMED   CHURCHES   197 

ative  baldness  and  poverty  of  Reformed  worship  is 
relieved  by  the  introduction  of  additional  responses 
and  antiphonies,  and  by  the  rehabilitation  of  some 
of  the  best  liturgical  elements  of  past  systems  of 
worship.  For  instance,  in  the  communion  service, 
after  the  usual  explanatory  and  hortatory  address, 
which  is  peculiar  to  the  Calvinistic  order,  we  have 
the  true  Sursum  Corda :  "  Let  us  lift  up  our  hearts 
on  high,  and  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord  our  God." 
Then  follows  the  refrain :  "  It  is  just  and  reasonable, 
and  a  very  salutary  duty,  that  we  should  at  all  times 
and  in  all  places  give  thanks  unto  thee,  Lord  God, 
holy  and  eternal  Father. "  This  is  followed  by  the 
variable  preface,  according  to  the  order  of  the 
Roman  Mass.  That  for  Christmas  day,  for  example, 
reads  as  follows:  "Through  Jesus  Christ,  Thine 
only  Son,  our  Lord,  who  at  this  time  was  born  for 
us,  and  who  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
made  very  man,  of  the  substance  of  the  blessed 
Virgin,  His  mother,  and  without  any  spot  of  sin,  to 
the  end  that  He  might  cleanse  us  from  all  iniquity." 
After  this  comes  the  Tersanctus,  as  follows :  "  There- 
fore with  angels,  with  archangels,  and  with  all  the 
hosts  of  heaven,  we  magnify  Thy  glorious  name, 
singing  to  Thy  glory,  and  saying.  Holy,  Holy,  Holy, 
Lord  God  of  hosts,  the  heavens  and  the  earth  are  full 
of  Thy  glory,  0  God,  Most  High."  Hereupon  fol- 
lows a  prayer  for  the  peace  of  the  world,  the  salva- 
tion of  all  nations,  the  protection  of  the  whole 
Church,    the  unity   and   peace   of    Christians,    and 


198  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

finally  for  the  grace  required  in  order  to  the  worthy 
reception  of  the  communion.  This  is  followed  by 
the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  by  another  prayer  for  forgive- 
ness of  sin,  Avhich  is  bat  an  expansion  of  the  old 
Kyrie  Eleison.  Hereupon  follows  the  consecration  of 
the  elements  in  the  use  of  the  words  of  institution. 
After  the  communion  we  have,  in  the  following  order, 
the  Nunc  Dhnittis,  the  Gloria  in  Uxcelsis,  an  exhorta- 
tion to  Christian  fidelity,  and  the  benediction. 

The  last  family  of  Reformed  liturgies  are  the 
German.  They  exhibit  evidences  of  Lutheran,  or 
rather  Melanchthonian,  as  well  as  Calvinistic  influ- 
ences. The  most  noteworthy  of  these  are  the  Hes- 
sian, first  published  in  1539,  and  afterwards  often 
revised;  the  Palatinate,  published  in  1563;  and 
the  Netherland,  or  Dutch,  published  in  1566.  It  is 
only  of  the  second  of  these  that  we  propose  here  to 
give  a  more  particular  account.  It  was  prepared  for 
the  use  of  the  churches  of  the  Palatinate,  by  order  of 
the  Elector,  Frederick  III.,  in  1568.  Its  authors 
'were  Zacharias  Ursinus,  a  pupil  of  Melanchthon, 
Caspar  Olevianus,  who  studied  theology  under  Calvin 
at  Geneva,  and  Emanuel  Tremellius,  a  disciple  of 
Peter  Martyr,  and  at  one  time  professor  at  Cam- 
bridge, England.  Thus  German,  French,  and  Swiss 
tendencies  are  happily  and  harmoniously  combined 
in  the  construction  of  this  liturgical  book.  Its 
basis  was  a  liturgy  prepared  by  John  A.  Lasco,  for 
the  use  of  the  Dutch  and  Walloon  churches  in  Lon- 
don, which  had  itself  been  based  upon  an  order  of 


LITURGIES   OF  THE  REFORMED   CHURCHES    199 

worship  prepared  by  Polanus  for  the  foreign  Keformed 
churches  of  Strassburg.  The  latter  was  made  the 
basis  also  for  the  liturgy  of  the  Netherlands. 

The  Palatinate  liturgy  attests  its  Reformed  char- 
acter by  the  distinction  which  it  makes  between  the 
communion  service  and  the  regular  preaching  service 
on  the  Lord's  day,  and  by  the  importance  which  it 
attaches  to  the  sermon  as  the  principal  element  in 
Christian  cultus.     It  contains  explicit  instructions 
concerning  the  preparation  of  sermons,  the  source 
from  which  their  material  is  to  be  drawn,  and  the 
end  which  they  should  have  in  view.     Besides  offices 
for   the  regular  service  on  Sunday,  the  Palatinate 
liturgy  contains  forms  for  week  day  services,  which 
are  to  be  held  wherever  possible  on  Wednesday  and 
Friday,  and  special  forms  for  the  Christian  festivals, 
and  for  days  of  humiliation  and  days  of  thanksgiving. 
The  remaining  offices  are  those  for  the  administra- 
tion of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  for  confirma- 
tion, or  the  admission  of  youths  to  the  Lord's  Supper, 
by  prayer  and  the  laying  on  of  hands,  for  the  sol- 
emnization of  marriage,    for  the  administration  of 
discipline,  for  the  visitation  of  the  sick  and  of  pris- 
oners, and  for  the  burial  of  the  dead.     Special  offices 
are   provided  for  the  administration  of   baptism  to 
Anabaptists  and  Jews. 

The  service  on  Sunday  morning,  in  cities,  towns, 
and  villages,  is  to  begin  at  eight  o'clock,  in  country 
places  somewhat  later.  The  service  opens  with  a 
votum:   "Grace,  mercy,    and   peace,"  etc.     This  is 


200  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

followed  by  a  prayer,  consisting  of  confession  of  sin 
and  of  penitence,  and  of  petitions  for  mercy,  for 
sanctification,  and  for  saving  knowledge  of  God's 
word,  concluding  with  the  Lord's  Prayer.  Here  fol- 
lows the  sermon,  which,  according  to  the  rubric,  is 
not  to  exceed  one  hour  in  length.  After  the  sermon 
comes  an  exhortation  to  the  confession  of  sin,  and  then 
a  confessional  prayer,  in  which  both  minister  and 
people  audibly  unite.  This  is  succeeded  by  the 
absolution,  or  the  declaration  of  pardon  to  the  peni- 
tent, and  the  announcement  of  the  retention  of  sin  to 
the  impenitent.  Here  again  follows  the  Lord's 
Prayer;  and  after  this  the  general  morning  prayer, 
containing  thanksgiving  for  bodily  and  spiritual 
blessings  and  petitions  for  the  continuation  of  the 
same,  — petitions  for  all  in  authority^  for  the  preser- 
vation of  the  fruits  of  the  earth  and  the  peace  of  the 
world,  for  the  prosperity  of  all  men,  for  the  relief  of 
those  who  are  suffering  persecution,,  for  the  comfort 
of  the  poor  and  of  all  who  are  in  tribulation  and 
distress.  For  this  prayer,  however,  others  are  sub- 
stituted on  special  occasions,  such  as  the  Christian 
festivals,  for  which  the  liturgy  provides  suitable 
forms.  The  general  prayer  always  ends  with  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  which  thus  occurs  three  times  in  the 
same  service.  After  the  prayer,  a  short  psalm  is  to 
be  sung,  and  the  congregation  dismissed  with  the 
Aaronic  benediction. 

On  Sunday  afternoon  it  is  ordered  that,  wherever 
possible,  services  are  to  be  held  in  which  a  lecture  on 


LITURGIES  OF  THE  REFORMED   CHURCHES    201 

the  Catechism,  adapted  to  the  comprehension  of  the 
young,  is  to  be  the  principal  feature,  but  which  is  to 
be  opened  and  closed  with  singing  and  prayer,  forms 
being  provided  for  this  purpose  in  the  liturgy.  This 
liturgy,  it  should  be  observed,  has  no  room  for 
extemporaneous  prayer  in  public  worship.  It  fur- 
nishes forms  for  all  conceivable  occasions,  and  the 
rubrics  are  mandatory  in  regard  to  the  use  of  them. 

In  the  order  of  succession  of  the  various  offices  in 
this,  as  in  other  Reformed  liturgies,  the  office  of 
baptism  comes  immediately  after  that  of  the  preach- 
ing service,  and  before  that  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
This  implies  that  the  Lord's  Supper  is  regarded,  not 
as  an  essential  element  of  all  Christian  cultus,  but 
as  an  occasional  means  of  grace  and  help  to  piety, 
the  use  of  which  may  be  deferred  to  more  or  less 
distant  intervals  according  to  convenience.  It  is, 
however,  regarded  as  an  exceedingly  solemn  trans- 
action, requiring  very  special  preparation  for  its  due 
and  proper  observance.  The  rubric  provides  that  in 
cities  the  Supper  is  to  be  celebrated  every  two  months, 
and  in  towns  and  villages  four  times  a  year,  — 
namely,  at  Christmas,  Easter,  Whitsunday,  and  on 
the  first  Sunday  in  September.  On  Saturday  preced- 
ing the  communion,  a  special  preparatory  service  is 
to  be  held,  when  all  the  members  of  the  church  who 
intend  to  commune  are  to  be  present,  and  when  also 
the  catechumens  are  to  be  examined  and  confirmed. 
The  service  on  this  occasion  consists  in  the  usual 
opening  prayer,  a  sermon  dwelling  upon  the  nature 


202  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

and  effect  of  Christ's  suffering,  and  upon  the  mean- 
ing and  design  of  the  Supper,  and  in  a  series  of  ques- 
tions and  answers,  in  which  the  congregation  con- 
fesses the  sense  of  its  need  and  misery,  its  faith  in 
Christ  as  the  only  Mediator  and  Saviour,  and  its 
purpose  to  forsake  sin,  and  to  live  in  newness  of  life. 
The  service  concludes  with  the  Lord's  Prayer  and 
benediction.  After  the  dismission  an  opportunity  is 
given  to  any  members  of  the  church  to  speak  to  the 
minister  or  other  officer  in  regard  to  matters  pertain- 
ing to  salvation,  about  which  their  minds  may  be 
disturbed. 

On  Sunday,  when  the  communion  is  celebrated, 
the  service  proceeds  as  usual  until  after  the  general 
prayer.  Then  the  minister  takes  his  place  at  the 
table,  and  reads  a  very  long  address  to  the  communi- 
cants, in  which  the  history  of  the  institution  of  the 
Supper  is  rehearsed  in  the  words  of  Saint  Paul,  the 
self-examination  required  in  order  to  its  salutary 
reception  explained,  the  forgiveness  of  sins  announced 
to  the  penitent,  the  impenitent  and  unbelieving 
warned  not  to  approach  the  Lord's  table,  and  the 
nature  and  design  of  the  Supper  set  forth.  After 
the  address  follows  the  prayer  of  consecration,  in 
which  the  Holy  Spirit  is  invoked  to  the  end  that,  in 
consequence  of  this  sacramental  transaction,  the  com- 
municants may  be  more  fully  united  to  Christ  their 
Head.  This  is  followed  by  the  Lord's  Prayer  and 
the  creed.  After  the  creed  comes  another  address 
based  upon  the  old  idea  of  the  Sursum  Corda^  in 


LITURGIES  OF  THE  REFORMED   CHURCHES    203 

which  the  communicants  are  exhorted  not  to  let  their 
hearts  cleave  to  the  external  elements  of  bread  and 
wine,  but  to  lift  them  up  into  heaven,  where  Christ 
is  in  the  glory  of  the  Father,  that  they  may  be 
united  with  Him  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  administration  of  the  communion  takes  place  at 
the  table  conveniently  placed  within  the  choir  of  the 
church,  which  the  members  successively  approach 
in  order  to  receive  tlie  sacred  emblems  from  the 
hands  of  the  minister.  During  the  administration 
of  the  Supper,  suitable  Psalms  may  be  sung  by  the 
congregation,  or  appropriate  Scripture  lessons  read. 
After  all  have  communed,  the  103d  Psalm  may  be 
recited,  or  a  short  prayer  of  thanksgiving  offered, 
after  which  the  congregation  is  dismissed  with  the 
Aaronic  benediction. 

This  Palatinate  liturgy  may  be  regarded  as  the  type 
of  a  number  of  German  Reformed  Agendas,  of  which 
it  would  be  impossible  here  to  give  any  account. 
They  would  be  found  to  differ  more  or  less  from 
each  other,  and  to  present  evidences  of  development 
of  the  liturgical  principle  in  various  directions,  but 
they  would  all  be  true  to  their  original  type. 

We  have  said  nothing  of  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  of  the  Church  of  England,  not  because  we 
do  not  regard  the  English  Church  as  a  Reformed 
Church,  which  originally  stood  in  friendly  and 
fraternal  relations  with  the  Reformed  churches  of 
the  continent,  exchanging  with  them  both  pulpits 
and  ministers,  nor  because  we  do  not  reco2;nize  in  it 


204  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

Reformed  elements ;  but,  first,  because  it  is  too  well 
known  to  need  description,  and,  secondly,  because  it 
forms  the  subject  of  a  separate  lecture  in  this  course. 
We  deem  it,  however,  not  out  of  place  to  mention  in 
this  connection  the  Order  of  Worship  for  the  re- 
formed church  in  the  United  States,  published  in 
1866.  It  is  a  Reformed  liturgy  resembling  in  general 
conception  the  older  liturgies  of  the  German  Calvin- 
istic  type,  but  having  features  in  common  also  with 
the  old  Oriental  and  Roman  liturgies.  The  com- 
munion service,  for  example,  while  thoroughly  true 
to  the  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  the  sacra- 
ment, has  elements  in  common  with  the  early  Greek 
liturgies,  especially  the  Clementine  of  the  Apostolic 
Constitutions.  Among  these  are  the  Pax  Vohiscum, 
the  Sursum  Corda^  the  invariable  preface^  and  the 
invocation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  elements  of 
bread  and  wine  in  the  prayer  of  consecration.  The 
old  responses  and  antiphonies,  the  old  chants  and 
creeds,  the  litany,  the  pericopes,  and  collects  have 
been  restored.  The  effort  has  been  made  to  produce 
a  book  of  worship  that  should  stand  in  vital  con- 
tinuity with  the  past,  and  yet  be  adapted  to  the  reli- 
gious wants  of  the  present.  As  to  the  success  or 
failure  of  the  effort,  it  may  still  be  too  early  to  pro- 
nounce judgment. 

The  Reformed  churches  have  in  their  liturgical 
treasures  a  rich  inheritance,  for  which  they  have 
reason  to  be  thankful,  and  which  they  cannot  suffer 
always   to  remain  unused.     But  what  use  shall  be 


LITURGIES   OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCHES   205 

made  of  it?  The  old  liturgies  cannot  be  brought  back 
into  the  worship  of  the  churches  of  the  present  day, 
in  the  form  in  which  they  were  once  used.  That  the 
old  liturgical  idea,  the  idea  of  a  common  service  in 
which  all  the  people  shall  participate,  will  assert 
itself  again  in  the  churches,  we  are  fully  persuaded. 
There  are  many  tendencies  at  the  present  time  which 
point  in  that  direction.  The  worship  of  the  future 
will  be  liturgical.  But  this  does  not  mean  that  the 
Reformation  liturgies,  in  their  original  form,  will 
again  be  introduced.  There  was  a  reason  doubtless 
for  their  going  out  of  use  in  the  past;  and  that  same 
reason  will  operate  against  their  reintroduction  now. 
Had  they  fully  satisfied  the  spirit  of  devotion  in  the 
times  succeeding  the  age  of  the  Reformation,  they 
would  have  continued  to  direct  that  devotion.  The 
continued  use  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  of  the 
Church  of  England  is  a  fact  that  should  be  instruc- 
tive to  other  reformed  churches.  But  no  work  of 
the  past  can  be  true  and  valuable  for  all  time  with- 
out undergoing  a  continual  process  of  transformation 
and  readaptation.  The  Reformers  thought  —  at  least 
some  of  them  did  —  that  they  were  bringing  back  the 
precise  pattern  of  worship  which  prevailed  in  the 
Apostolic  Church.  Had  they  done  so,  their  work 
would  not  have  suited  the  age  in  which  they  lived, 
and  for  which  they  labored.  No  one  age  can  be  a 
law  for  all  other  ages,  either  in  doctrine  or  worship. 
The  doctrinal  confessions  of  the  Reformation  have, 
indeed,  maintained  themselves  much  longer  than  did 


206  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

the  books  of  worship.  But  they  are  now  generally 
beginning  to  be  felt  to  be  inadequate  to  the  demands 
of  Christian  faith,  and  the  cry  for  revision  has  gone 
up,  which  will  continue  to  resound  until  it  shall  be 
satisfied. 

But  while  the  past  cannot  be  repristinated,  either 
in  doctrine  or  worship,  neither  can  the  present  with 
impunity  sever  its  connection  with  the  past.  Con- 
tinuity in  the  midst  of  change  is  the  law  of  history ; 
and  only  those  productions  can  be  truly  valuable  to 
the  life  of  the  present  which  stand  in  organic  con- 
nection with  the  life  of  the  past.  Our  prevailing 
unliturgical  practices,  for  instance,  are  not  a  devel- 
opment out  of  the  liturgical  practices  which  were 
once  universal;  they  imply  an  absolute  break  with 
all  past  principles  of  public  worship.  Is  not  that  a 
reason,  perhaps,  why  the  masses  among  us  do  no 
longer  attend  church?  Would,  then,  the  creation 
of  new  liturgies,  wholly  different  from  anything  that 
has  ever  been  known  in  the  past,  meet  the  wants  of 
the  time  any  better  ?  We  think  not.  Apart  from 
the  fact  that  the  man  would  have  to  be  more  than 
human  who  should  be  able  to  accomplish  such  a  work, 
it  would  be  a  useless  work  after  being  accomplished. 
As  the  life  of  the  Church  at  the  present  moment  grows 
out  of  the  life  of  the  past,  so  the  order  of  worship  that 
shall  satisfy  the  feelings  of  devotion  now  must  be  the 
outgrowth  of  the  order  of  worship  in  all  past  ages. 

Perhaps  the  Reformers  erred  in  not  sufficiently 
observing   this   principle.      Did   they   not   in   some 


LITURGIES  OF  THE  REFORMED   CHURCHES    207 

respects  deal  too  violently  with  the  productions  of 
history,  and  destroy  where  they  should   only  have 
purified  and  renovated?     Did  not  their  hatred  of  the 
abuses  of  the  old  order  and  an  extreme  application 
of  their  principle  of  Scripture,  sometimes  betray  them 
into  violence?     Take,  for  example,  their  manner  of 
dealing  with  the  Church  year.     It  would  not,  as  is 
sometimes   maintained,  be  correct  to  say  that  they 
destroyed  it,  for  in  principle  they  accepted  it,  by 
accepting  the   great   Christian  festivals;  but  they 
mutilated  it  by  cutting  out  those  parts  which  are 
necessary  to  connect  the   festivals  into  an  organic 
whole  of  sacred  time.     Historically  they  were  justi- 
fied in  doing  this  by  the  abuse  of  the  sacred  year  in 
the  Catholic  Church,  which  contained  so  many  holy 
days  that  honest  people  had  no  longer  working  days 
enough  to  earn  their  bread.     But  surely  that  justifi- 
cation exists  no  longer  now.     And  the  arrangement 
of  the   Reformers   could   not   long  maintain  itself. 
Either  the  whole  idea  of  the  Church  year  must  be 
given  up,  as  has  happened  in  some  sections  of  the 
Reformed    Church,    or  the   whole    circle    must  be 
restored,  as  has  been  done  in  other  sections,  and  is 
proposed  in  our  own  Order  of  Worship.     Again,  some 
of  the  Reformers  at  first  dealt  violently  with^  the 
altar ;  for  which  there  was  good  reason  at  the  time, 
in  the  fact  that  the  altar  had  been  made  the  recep- 
tacle for  the  relics  of  the  saints,  many  of  them  spuri- 
ous,  with   which   much   superstitious   practice   was 
connected.     But  Christian  worship  involves  a  sacri- 


208  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

ficial  and  priestly  element,  —  a  God-ward  action  on 
the  part  of  the  congregation,  —  and  this  demands  for 
its  full  expression  the  symbol  of  the  altar,  just  as 
the  prophetic  or  teaching  function  of  the  Church 
demands  the  pulpit;  and  consequently  in  large  sec- 
tions of  the  Reformed  Church  the  altar  has  long 
since  been  restored  to  its  place.  Finally,  the  Re- 
formers were  generally  opposed  to  the  employment 
of  art  in  worship,  because  in  the  old  order  art  had 
been  prostituted  to  what  they  believed  to  be  idola- 
trous practices.  But  art  has  its  place  in  worship, 
and  has,  therefore,  gradually  come  back  into  the 
service  of  the  Church,  as  we  see  in  the  modern  styles 
of  church  architecture,  and  in  the  use  of  organs, 
hymns,  and  music.  These  changes  are  evidences  of 
the  manner  in  which  the  primitive  Reformed  orders 
of  worship  have  been  developed  in  modern  time. 
And  it  must  be  by  still  further  development  and 
change,  making  old  things  new  and  taking  up  new 
things  into  harmonious  union  with  the  old,  that  the 
old  orders  shall  again  become  adapted  to  the  existing 
wants  of  worship.  The  Reformation  did  not  end  all 
liturgical  progress,  any  more  than  it  ended  all  prog- 
ress in  theology;  only  the  progress  that  shall  be 
legitimate  must  be  in  harmony  with  the  order  of  the 
Reformation,  as  well  as  with  all  that  was  true  and 
good  in  the  old  order  that  went  before ;  and  it  must 
produce  a  work  in  which  all  one-sidedness  and  con- 
tradiction shall  be  overcome,  and  every  element  of 
devotion  find  its  due  expression. 


LITURGIES  OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCHES    209 

It  is  a  question,  for  example,  whether  the  Refor- 
mation has  rightly  settled  the  relation  between  the 
sermon  and   the    Eucharist   in   the  constitution  of 
Christia,n  cultus,  and  whether  the  ideal   liturgy  of 
the  future  will  not  need  some  modification  at  this 
point.     Is  the  sermon  really  the  central  and  essen- 
tial element  of  cultus,  and  is  the  Eucharist  properly 
appreciated  when  it  is  regarded  merely  as  an  occa- 
sional appendix   to  the  service  of  preaching?     As 
over  against  the  practice  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
the  time  of  the  Reformation,  there   is  doubtless  a 
degree  of  justification  for  the  Reformed  view.     The 
Catholic  practice  had  made  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass 
central,  and  had  crowded  the  sermon  out  of  the  regu- 
lar order  of  worship   altogether.     The  evil  conse- 
quences of  this  neglect  of  the  teaching  function  of 
the  Church  were  very  apparent  in  the  time  of  the 
Reformation,  and  the  Reformers  had  good  reason  for 
emphasizing  the   office   of   preaching.     But  is  this 
emphasizing  of  the  sermon  at  the  expense  of  the 
Eucharist  with  its  accompanying  services,  which  may 
have  been  right  and  proper  at  the  time  of  the  Refor- 
mation, right  and  proper  now?     Is  this  the  ideal  of 
Christian  cultus?     It  is  a  contradiction  of  the  order 
of  worship  of  the  primitive  Church  as  far  back  as  we 
know  anything  of  it.     Is  it  in  harmony  with  the  fun- 
damental  idea   of   Christian   worship?     Is  not  this 
theory  responsible  for  the  prevailingly  intellectual 
and   pedagogic    character   of    our   church   services, 
which,  while  they  mny  satisfy  the  intellect,  fail  to 
satisfy  the  heart?      People  now  "goto  preaching," 

14 


210  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

instead  of  going  to  church  or  to  divine  service ;  and 
if  the  preaching  is  no  longer  to  their  liking,  or  if  it 
fails  to  satisfy  their  intellectual  temper,  they  cease 
going  altogether.  Is  not  this  another  reason  why  the 
Church  is  losing  her  hold  upon  the  modern  mind? 
Is  there  not  needed  a  readjustment  of  the  order  of 
our  church  services  in  such  way  that  they  shall 
engage  the  interest  of  the  heart  as  well  as  that  of  the 
head?  In  our  opinion,  at  least,  this  is  one  of  the 
pressing  needs  of  the  age.  The  relation  of  sermon 
and  Eucharist,  or  the  relation  of  sermon  and  liturgy, 
must  be  readjusted.  Neither  one  may  overshadow 
the  other.  Neither  one  may  be  central  in  the  con- 
stitution of  cultus.  They  may  be  related  as  opposite 
poles  of  the  same  reality,  the  one  always  balancing 
and  supporting  the  other.  Not  that  the  Eucharist 
needs  to  be  celebrated  at  every  service,  but  that  the 
central  idea  of  the  Eucharist,  namely,  the  idea  of 
collective  as  well  as  personal  communion  with  Christ 
in  the  Spirit,  should  be  the  pervading  idea  of  every 
service.  In  this  sense  the  liturgies  of  the  Reforma- 
tion may  need  modification  in  order  to  adapt  them  to 
our  time.  Our  age  needs  more  of  worship.  The 
heart  needs  to  be  engaged  and  satisfied  as  well  as  the 
head.  And  to  this  end  the  old  liturgical  idea  and 
habit  need  to  be  brought  back  to  the  churches ;  but 
it  must  be  the  Reformation  idea  and  the  Reformation 
habit  enriched  and  modified  by  the  best  liturgical 
productions  of  pre-Reformation  times,  as  well  as  by 
the  liturgical  achievements  which  have  been  accom- 
plished since  the  period  of  the  Reformation. 


VII 
THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER 

By  the  Rev.  WILLIAM  R.  HUNTINGTON,  D.D. 

Rector  of  Grace  Church,  New  York  City 


THE    STORY,  THE   CHARACTERISTICS,   AND 

THE  POSSIBILITIES   OF  THE   BOOK 

OF   COMMON  PRAYER 

IT  was  Mr.  Galton,  I  believe,  who  first  suggested  the 
ingenious  process  known  as  composite  photog- 
raphy. Wishing  to  secure  a  picture  which  should 
represent  a  class  or  family  rather  than  any  single 
individual  member  of  such  family  or  class,  he  hit 
upon  the  device  of  superimposing  one  negative  upon 
another,  until  the  features  of  the  successive  sitters 
became  finally  blended  in  a  face  that  was  the  like- 
ness of  no  one  of  them  in  particular,  but,  so  to  say, 
of  all  of  them  in  general. 

Only  by  some  such  method  as  this  will  it  be  pos- 
sible for  us  to  make  a  satisfactory  study  of  the  Book 
of  Common  Prayer,  since,  in  truth,  there  are  many 
Books  of  Common  Prayer,  each  one  of  which  has 
full  right  and  fair  title  to  be  called  by  that  name. 

There  is  the  First  Book  of  King  Edward  the  Sixth, 
the  editio  princeps,  the  fount  and  prototype  of  all  the 
Prayer  Books  that  have  succeeded  it.  That  dates 
from  1549.  Then  there  is  Edward's  Second  Book, — 
the  revision  of  1552.      Following  upon  this  comes 


214  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

Elizabeth's  Book,  then  James's.  Later  still,  we  have 
the  revised  Common  Prayer  of  the  Stuart  Restora- 
tion, and  "  in  the  course  of  human  events  "  the  Amer- 
ican Book,  in  its  first  revision  of  1789  and  in  its  latest 
standard  form  of  1892.  There  are  still  other  vari- 
ants,—  as,  for  example,  the  Scottish  Book,  which 
Laud  and  Charles  endeavored  unsuccessfully  to  force 
upon  the  people  of  the  northern  kingdom,  just  before 
the  breaking  out  of  the  great  rebellion  which  cost 
both  of  them  their  heads.  There  is  also  the  Irish 
Book,  the  product  of  the  Disestablishment  Act  of 
1870.  It  would  be  unfair  to  take  any  one  of  these 
various  readings  and  to  treat  it  as  if  it  were  the  alone 
true  and  authentic  text.  The  just  method  would  seem 
to  be  to  approach  the  subject,  first  of  all,  historically : 
to  follow  the  romantic  fortunes  of  the  book  from  its 
beginnings  until  now ;  and  then,  but  not  until  then, 
to  attempt  the  composite  photography  which  is  to 
give  us  the  means  of  discriminating  between  tran- 
sient phase  and  settled  type,  accident  and  essence, 
ear-mark  and  birth-mark. 

The  English  Book  of  Common  Prayer  came  into 
being  as  a  distinct  entity  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1549. 
On  the  Whitsunday  of  that  year  it  was  born ;  but  to 
discover  the  genesis  of  the  book's  pre-natal  life  we 
should  have  to  go  much  farther  back. 

It  used  to  be  the  fashion  to  say  that  the  Prayer 
Book  was  "  compiled  "  by  the  English  Beformers,  with 
the  assistance  of  learned  friends  brought  over  from 
the  Continent ;  but  stating  the  case  in  that  way  meant 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER  215 

putting  a  strain  upon  the  words  "compile"  and 
"  compilation." 

The  Common  Prayer  was,  and  is,  not  so  much  a 
compilation  as  a  product  of  growth,  —  interrupted 
growth,  no  doubt,  dislocated  growth,  if  you  prefer  to 
call  it  that,  —  but  still  growth,  pure  and  simple.  The 
English  reformers  were  not  as  men  who  get  together 
around  a  table,  saying,  "  Go  to,  let  us  construct  a 
liturgy  suited  to  present-day  needs."  On  the  con- 
trary, what  they  did  was  this :  they  took  the  devo- 
tional system  to  which  they  and  their  countrymen 
had  been  accustomed  from  their  childhood,  and  hav- 
ing purged  it  of  what  were  believed  to  be  superstitious 
accretions,  they  sent  it  forth  to  do  a  better  work  than 
it  had  ever  done  before.  Not  even  for  the  name  upon 
the  titlepage  can  absolute  originality  be  claimed ;  for 
King  Edward's  first  Act  of  Uniformity  begins  with 
the  declaration  that  "  Of  long  time  there  has  been  had 
in  this  realm  of  England  and  in  Wales  divers  forms 
of  common  prayer,  commonly  called  the  Service  of 
the  Church."  It  was  apparently,  therefore,  no  new 
thing  for  the  Service  of  the  Church,  as  those  people 
already  had  it,  to  be  called  "  Common  Prayer."  What 
the  reformers  aimed  to  do  was  to  make  the  public 
prayers  really,  instead  of  only  nominally,  "  common  " 
by  translating  them  from  aristocratic  Latin  into 
homely  English,  and  thus  giving  to  the  people  their 
due  portion  of  a  worship  which  had  by  default  lapsed 
almost  wholly  to  the  priests. 

We  have  first,  therefore,  to  inquire  what  this  "  Ser- 


216  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

vice  of  the  Church  "  was  which  Edward's  ecclesiastics 
undertook,  midway  in  the  sixteenth  century,  to  re- 
mould and  refashion  into  better  form. 

The  service-books  in  use  in  the  mediseval  Catholic 
Church,  although  many  in  number,  were  all  of  them 
reducible  to  one  or  other  of  three  sorts,  —  the  Missal, 
or  Mass-book ;  the  Breviary,  or  Book  of  Hours ;  and 
the  Ceremonial,  or  Book  of  Rites.  No  single  embodi- 
ment of  any  one  of  these  types  enjoyed  universal 
acceptance. 

Different  countries,  yes,  even  different  dioceses,  had 
their  own  proper  missals.  There  were  also  breviaries 
and  breviaries ;  but  the  variations  were  of  a  non-essen- 
tial kind,  the  type  stood.  The  Missal  was  the  Office 
of  the  Holy  Communion,  —  the  Liturgy,  strictly  and 
properly  so  called.  The  Breviary  was  a  collection  of 
carefully  chosen  psalms,  hymns,  and  prayers,  assigned 
to  the  canonical  hours  of  every  day  in  the  year.  The 
Ceremonial  was  a  compendium  of  forms  suitable  for 
such  occasions  as  Holy  Matrimony,  the  Burial  of  the 
Dead,  Exorcisms,  Confessions,  and  the  like.  A  dis- 
tinction was  made,  to  be  sure,  between  such  rites  and 
ceremonies  as  came  within  the  province  of  the  parish 
priest  and  those  that  only  a  bishop  could  lawfully 
perform  ;  and  so  there  w^as  a  special  book,  known  as 
the  Pontifical;  but,  not  to  burden  the  memory  un- 
necessarily, it  suffices  to  say  that  the  Missal,  the  Bre- 
viary, and  the  Ceremonial  were  the  standard  books, — 
the  great  devotional  manuals  of  the  Church. 

Were  we  disposed  to  go  into  the  philosophy  of  the 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER  217 

matter,  we  might  find  here  the  grounds  for  a  very 
interesting  study  in  evolution.  The  proposition  is  a 
defensible  one  that  these  three  sorts  of  service- 
books  correspond  to  ritual  uses  even  more  ancient 
than  the  Christian  Church  itself, -— uses,  in  fact,  which 
may  be  traced  back  to  synagogue  and  temple.  The 
central  feature  of  the  Hebrew  worship  was  sacrifice, 
an  action  which  had,  as  we  know,  its  carefully  pre- 
scribed method  or  ritual.  We  find  the  antitype  to  this 
in  the  commemoration  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  Son  of 
God  upon  the  Cross,  the  eucharistic  expression  of 
which  is  the  service  of  the  Holy  Communion,  known 
in  mediaeval  times  and  among  Roman  Catholics  to 
this  day  as  the  Mass. 

But  besides  its  sacrificial  system  the  Jewish  Church 
had  also  its  scheme  of  daily  psalmody  and  prayer. 
Peter  and  John,  for  instance,  went  up  together  into 
the  temple  at  "  the  hour  of  prayer  "  ;  and  it  is  evident, 
from  the  many  musical  rubrics  of  the  Book  of  Psalms, 
that  sacred  song  played  no  small  part  in  the  temple 
worship.  The  Psalter,  with  its  ordered  sequences 
and  responsals,  was  practically  the  Hebrew's  breviary. 
But  besides  their  acts  of  sacrifice  and  their  offices  of 
daily  prayer  and  praise,  the  Jews  had  other  religious 
usages  that  called  for  liturgical  accompaniment ;  and 
these  we  naturally  classify  under  the  distinct  head  of 
rites  and  ceremonies,  — such  would  have  been,  for 
instance,  the  official  cleansing  of  the  leper  by  pro- 
nouncement of  the  priest,  the  receiving  of  children 
into  the  fellowship  of  the  congregation,  and  the  like. 


218  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

Of  course,  it  is  easy  to  say  that  all  this  was  only  part 
and  parcel  of  the  semi-pagan  sacerdotalism  which 
Christ  came  to  sweep  away  and  to  replace.  That  is  a 
question  by  itself,  —  a  very  grave  question,  no  doubt, 
but  not  the  question  with  which  we  are  busy  just  at 
this  moment.  At  present  I  am  only  seeking  rationally 
to  account  for  the  existence  in  the  Christian  Church 
of  the  particular  sorts  of  service-books  which,  in  point 
of  fact,  were  everywhere  in  use  among  the  faithful 
before  the  Protestant  Reformation,  and  to  account  for 
it  with  due  deference  to  that  principle  of  continuity 
which  is  to-day  as  much  the  watchword  of  historical, 
as  it  has  long  been  of  geological  and  biological  inves- 
tigation. But,  be  this  as  it  may,  the  fact  remains 
that  by  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  mul- 
tiplicity of  the  service-books  had  become,  in  the  eye 
at  least  of  the  northern  portion  of  European  Christen- 
dom, an  intolerable  nuisance. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  in  what  I  have  been 
saying  as  to  Missal,  Breviary,  and  Ceremonial,  I 
have  been  speaking  of  genera  rather  than  of  species. 
Had  these  three  books  existed  only  as  three  vol- 
umes, the  mental  hardship  of  familiarizing  himself 
witli  their  contents  would  have  been  no  greater  for 
tlie  mediaeval  Christian  than  was  involved  in  that 
mastering  of  Holy  Scripture  which  the  Reformers 
demanded  of  him  if  he  inclined  to  become  a  Protes- 
tant. In  reality,  however,  the  mingle-mangle  of  the 
service-books  was  much  more  perplexing  than  our 
classification  would  suggest ;  and  it  was  only  trained 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER  219 

ecclesiastics  who  could  so  much  as  pretend  to  under- 
stand the  ins  and  outs  of  public  worship. 

But  this  was  not  the  only  grievance,  nor  was  it  the 
most  serious.  The  era  of  the  invention  of  printing 
was  the  last  of  all  times  when  we  should  have  ex- 
pected impatience  at  the  number  of  service-books  in 
use  to  become  the  provoking  cause  of  a  liturgical 
revolt.  The  real  trouble  lay  deeper.  The  intelli- 
gence of  the  age  had  awakened  to  discern  the  child- 
ishness and  senselessness  of  much  that  the  old 
formularies  of  worship  contained,  and  there  was  a 
prevalent  demand  that  the  winnowing-fan  be  set 
in  motion,  the  melting-pot  made  ready.  The  men 
to  whom  new  worlds  were  opening,  both  overhead 
and  over  seas,  could  not  be  put  off  much  longer  with 
old  wives'  fables  read  to  them  from  the  lives  of  the 
saints.  The  times  were  waking  up.  Cervantes  was 
born.  Presently  his  gentle  knight,  the  representative 
of  a  belated  medisevalism,  would  be  laughed  off  the 
stage  of  secular  affairs ;  why  should  not  the  equally 
superannuated  priest  Mumpsimus  Bumpsimus  be  ex- 
pelled the  sanctuary  as  well  ?  A  cry  for  veritable  fact 
was  on  the  air.  Men  were  clamoring  for  the  pure 
word  of  God,  and  their  demand  was  that  it  should  be 
given  them  in  the  vernacular.  All  this  the  scholars 
who  adventured  the  remodelling  of  the  devotional 
system  of  the  Church  of  England  well  and  clearly 
perceived  and  knew. 

Present-day  Anglicans  are,  many  of  them,  very 
mealy-mouthed  indeed  when  it  comes  to  any  criticism 


220  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

of  old-time  methods  in  religion ;  but  the  broad-minded 
ecclesiastics  who  took  up  liturgical  revision  in  the 
j'^ear  of  our  Lord  1549  were  of  a  more  robust  temper. 
The  fact  that  a  lie  was  masquerading  in  venerable 
raiment  gave  it  no  sanctity  in  their  eyes ;  and  what- 
ever in  the  old  usages  seemed  to  them  "  superstitions  " 
they  did  not  scruple  to  brand  with  that  offensive  name. 
If  you  have  an  appetite  for  racy  English,  look  up, 
some  day  when  opportunity  serves,  the  First  Prayer 
Book  of  Edward  VI.,  and  read  the  Preface.  You  will 
find  there  the  frankest  possible  statement  of  the  bur- 
dens under  which  English  Christians  in  that  day  must 
needs  stagger  if  they  would  arise  and  go  unto  their 
Father  and  say  unto  Him  anything.  Take  a  few  sen- 
tences, picked  out  here  and  there,  for  a  sample  of 
their  style  :  "  Whereas  St.  Paul  would  have  such  lan- 
guage spoken  to  the  people  in  the  Church  as  they 
might  understand  and  have  profit  by  hearing  the 
same,  the  service  in  this  Church  of  England,  (these 
many  years)  hath  been  read  in  Latin  to  the  people, 
which  they  understood  not,  so  that  they  have  heard 
with  their  ears  only,  and  their  hearts,  spirit  and  mind 
have  not  been  edified  thereby.  .  .  .  Moreover  .  .  . 
the  manifold  manglings  of  the  service  was  the  cause 
that  to  turn  the  book  only  was  so  hard  and  intricate 
a  matter,  that,  many  times,  there  was  more  business 
to  find  out  what  should  be  read  than  to  read  it  when 
it  was  found  out." 

"  These  inconveniences,  therefore,  considered,"  they 
go  on  to  say, "  here  is  set  forth  such  an  order  whereby 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER  221 

the  same  shall  be  redressed;  .  .  .  because  here  are 
left  out  many  things,  whereof  some  be  untrue,  some 
uncertain,  some  vain  and  superstitious." 

"Furthermore,  by  this  Order,"  and  here  the  na- 
tional instinct  of  thrift  betrays  itself,  "  the  curates 
shall  need  none  other  for  their  public  service  but  this 
book  and  the  Bible,  by  the  means  whereof  the  peo- 
ple shall  not  be  at  so  great  charge  for  books  as  in 
times  past  they  have  been.  And  where,  heretofore, 
there  hath  been  great  diversity  in  saying  and  sing- 
ing in  Churches  within  this  realm,  some  following 
Salisbury  use,  some  Hereford  use,  some  the  use 
of  Bangor,  some  of  York  and  some  of  Lincoln,  now, 
from  henceforth,  all  the  whole  realm  shall  have  but 
one  use." 

With  such  honest,  sane,  and  pithy  sentences  as  these 
was  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  launched  upon  its 
eventful  voyage.  But  the  ship,  to  continue  our  nau- 
tical figure,  was  scarcely  out  of  port  before  she  found 
herself  temporarily  grounded  upon  a  bar. 

The  more  advanced  among  the  English  reformers 
were  not  entirely  satisfied  with  the  Book  as  it  stood, 
and  presently  they  began  to  agitate  for  revision. 
Their  movement  was  successful ;  and  after  three 
short  years  of  use  Edward's  First  Book  gave  place  to 
his  second;  otherwise  known  as  the  Book  of  1552. 
This  second  Book  was  even  shorter-lived  than  the 
first,  for  it  had  scarcely  been  set  forth  and  made 
obligatory  before  Mary  came  to  the  throne,  and  at  a 
stroke  overthrew,  for  the  moment,  the  whole  Refer- 


222  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

mation  fabric.  But  the  labor  expended  upon  the 
second  Book  was  by  no  means  wasted ;  for  Eliza- 
beth's divines  chose  to  make  it,  rather  than  the  first 
Book,  the  basis  of  their  recension,  and  thus  what  had 
seemed  abortive  turned  out  fruitful.  Almost,  if  not 
quite,  all  of  the  changes  made  in  the  second  Book, 
differencing  it  from  the  first,  had  been  in  what  may 
fairly  enough  be  called  the  Protestant  direction. 
Prayers  for  the  dead  were  omitted  ;  certain  vestments 
were  disallowed ;  the  prefatory  portions  of  the  Morn- 
ing and  Evening  Prayer  were  amplified ;  the  word 
"  Table "  was  substituted  for  "  Altar,"  the  public 
reading  of  the  Decalogue  was  enjoined,  and  various 
transpositions  were  effected  in  the  Office  of  the  Holy 
Communion.  There  were  other  alterations,  but  these 
that  I  have  mentioned  were  among  the  more  signifi- 
cant. Slight  as  they  may  look  from  one  point  of  view, 
from  another  they  may  be  said  to  have  influenced 
the  whole  course  of  English  Christianity  from  those 
days  to  these.  Elizabeth's  Prayer  Book  has  been 
twice  revised,  —  once  under  King  James  after  the 
Hampton  Court  Conference,  and  again  under  Charles 
the  Second  after  the  Savoy  Conference  ;  but  neither  of 
the  Stuart  monarchs  in  his  day  laid  so  strong  a  hand 
upon  the  text  as  the  Tudor  queen  had  done  in  hers. 
Substantially,  the  Prayer  Book  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land to-day  is  what  the  age  af  Raleigh,  of  Bacon,  and 
of  Shakspeare  made  it.  Conceivably  some  Victorian 
pen  might  have  ministered  to  the  devotional  needs  of 
the  modern  English  more  effectively  than  the  Eliza- 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER  223 

bethan  has  made  out  to  do,  but  most  lovers  of  their 
mother  tongue  will  doubt  it. 

Time  presses ;  but  I  cannot  forbear  detaining  you 
a  moment  for  a  look  at  the  two  Conferences  just  men- 
tioned, seeing  that  they  count  among  the  more  note- 
worthy of  the  lost  opportunities  of  history. 

A  little  way  out  of  London  stands  the  charming 
old  palace  of  Hampton  Court,  a  house  of  many  more 
than  seven  gables,  and  compassed  about  with  a  per- 
fect paradise  of  trees  and  shrubs.  Hither,  at  the 
invitation  of  King  James,  shortly  after  his  accession, 
came  divers  Puritan  divines,  the  representatives  of 
more  than  a  thousand  petitioners,  "  groaning,"  as 
they  declared,  *^  under  a  common  burden  of  human 
rites  and  ceremonies."  This  common  burden  was 
none  other  than  the  Common  Prayer.  His  Majesty 
set  over  against  these  champions  of  reform  a  brave 
array  of  ecclesiastics,  —  to  wit,  one  archbishop,  eight 
bishops,  seven  deans,  and  two  doctors  of  divinity  ;  but 
with  characteristic  Scottish  shrewdness  the  British 
Solomon  was  careful  to  retain  the  chair  for  himself. 
The  Puritans  made  their  complaints,  the  Anglicans 
their  rejoinders,  the  King  his  caustic  observations, — 
in  fact,  to  use  his  own  rather  piquant  language,  he 
"peppered  the  Puritans  soundly,"  but  nothing,  or 
next  to  nothing,  came  of  it.  Yes,  something  came  of 
it ;  something  always  does  come  of  futile  negotiations 
for  peace.  The  grievance  rankled,  and  when  next 
the  Puritans  set  their  hand  to  the  revision  of  the 
Common  Prayer,  it  was   not  in   kings'  houses  that 


224  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

they  gathered,  but  on  the  field,  their  pen  a  trooper's 
sword.  Just  one  and  forty  years  after  the  fiasco  at 
Hampton  Court,  an  ordinance  passed  both  houses  of 
Parliament  whereby  it  was  enacted  that  any  persons 
found  using  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  either 
publicly  or  in  their  families,  were  to  forfeit  five 
pounds  for  the  first  offence,  ten  pounds  for  the 
second,  and  a  year's  imprisonment  without  bail  for 
the  third.  Clearly  the  pepper-pot  had  changed  hands. 
But  England  wearied  of  the  Directory,  even  as  it  had 
wearied  of  the  Common  Prayer ;  and  presently  we 
find  ourselves  lookers-on  at  a  fresh  Conference. 
Again,  ominously  enough,  the  council  chamber  is  a 
palace,  —  the  palace  of  the  Savoy  in  the  Strand.  It 
is  the  year  1661.  The  Stuarts  are  once  more  in  the 
saddle  ;  and  with  the  fond  hope  that  the  King  is  at 
last  in  some  measure  favorable  to  their  views,  the 
Presbyterians  have  come  to  meet  the  Episcopalians, 
ostensibly  for  peace.  This  time  the  two  sides  are 
more  fairly  matched  in  point  of  numbers  than  they 
were  at  Hampton  Court ;  for  each  delegation  counts 
twelve  principals  and  nine  assistants.  But  again, 
alas  !  the  thing  turns  out  a  flash  in  the  pan.  Richard 
Baxter,  saint  and  scholar  though  he  is,  makes  the 
unaccountable  blunder  of  proposing  to  substitute  a 
liturgy  of  his  own  impromptu  manufacture  for  the 
already  venerable  Book  of  Common  Prayer ;  the 
bishops  show  themselves  imperious,  not  to  say  re- 
vengeful, certainly  anything  but  ''easy  to  be  en- 
treated," and   the  Conference   perishes  in   collapse. 


TBE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER  225 

A  large  number  of  unimportant  changes  were  made 
by  Convocation  in  the  text  of  the  Prayer  Book  while 
the  Conference  was  still  in  session,  but  few,  if  any,  of 
them  were  in  the  direction  of  the  Presbyterians' desires. 

Twenty-eight  more  years  passed,  and  yet  another 
attempt  was  made  to  promote  a  better  liturgical 
understanding.  It  was  in  the  reign,  this  time,  of 
William  and  Mary;  and  again  there  was  good  hope 
felt  in  some  quarters  that  Englishmen  might  come 
to  at  least  an  approximate  agreement  in  the  matter  of 
their  prayers.  But,  no,  *'  this  great  and  good  work," 
to  quote  the  language  of  the  Preface  to  the  American 
Prayer  Book,  "  miscarried,"  and  all  things  continued 
as  they  had  been  from  the  beginning  of  the  Restora- 
tion. Yes,  all  things  thus  continued,  so  far  as  Eng- 
land was  concerned ;  but  see  what  happened  next, 
for  it  is  a  most  striking  illustration  of  what  we  may 
call  the  reprisals  of  divine  Providence. 

"  The  shot  heard  round  the  world "  was  fired  at 
Lexington,  the  little  group  of  thirteen  Colonies  that 
fringed  the  Atlantic  coast  fought  its  way  to  national- 
ity, and  the  long  quarrel  of  the  European  powers 
over  the  partition  of  North  America  ended  in  the 
establishment  of  a  great  English-speaking  Common- 
wealth. What  did  all  this  portend  for  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  ?  It  portended  the  reversal,  in  great 
measure,  of  the  judgments  pronounced  at  Hampton 
Court  in  1604  and  at  the  Savoy  in  1661.  Let  us 
quote  again  from  the  Preface  to  the  American  Prayer 
Book,  for  it  gives  the  whole  story  in  a  nut-shell :  — 

15 


226  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

"When  in  the  course  of  Divine  Providence,  these 
American  States  became  independent  with  respect  to 
civil  government,  their  ecclesiastical  independence  was 
necessarily  included  ;  and  the  different  religious  denomi- 
nations of  Christians  in  these  States  were  left  at  full 
and  equal  liberty  to  model  and  organize  their  respective 
Churches  and  forms  of  worship  and  discipline  in  such 
manner  as  they  might  judge  most  convenient  for  their 
future  prosperity,  consistently  with  the  laws  and  Con- 
stitution of  their  Country. 

"The  attention  of  this  Church  was,  in  the  first  jjlace, 
drawn  to  those  alterations  in  the  Liturgy  which  became 
necessary  in  the  prayers  for  our  civil  rulers  in  conse- 
quence of  the  Revolution.  And  the  principal  care  herein 
was  to  make  them  conformable  to  what  ought  to  be  the 
proper  end  of  all  such  prayers,  namely,  that  '  Rulers  may 
have  grace,  wisdom  and  understanding,  to  exercise  justice 
and  to  maintain  truth ; '  and  that  the  people  *  may  lead  quiet 
and  peaceable  lives  in  all  godliness  and  honesty.'  But 
while  these  alterations  were  in  review  before  the  Conven- 
tion, they  could  not  but,  with  gratitude  to  God,  embrace 
the  happy  occasion  which  was  offered  to  them  (unin- 
fluenced and  unrestrained  by  any  worldly  authority  what- 
soever) to  take  a  further  review  of  the  Public  Service, 
and  to  establish  such  other  alterations  and  amendments 
therein  as  might  be  deemed  expedient." 

So  far,  the  American  revisers  of  1789.  Their 
words  present  a  sober  and  modest  estimate  of  what 
they  had  just  been  doing  in  convention  assembled. 
It  might  look,  from  their  own  account  of  the  matter, 
as  if  they  had  not  accomplished  very  much  in  the 


THE  BOOK  OF   COMMON  PRAYER  227 

line  of  improYement ;  but  if  you  will  be  at  the 
trouble  of  laying  an  American  Prayer  Book  open 
by  the  side  of  an  English  one,  and  will  compare 
them  page  for  page,  you  will  find  that  almost  all 
of  the  more  serious  liturgical  grievances  alleged  at 
London  in  the  seventeenth  century  were  redressed 
at  Philadelphia  in  the  eighteenth.  I  say  "  serious 
grievances,"  for  very  many  of  the  criticisms  brought 
against  the  Prayer  Book  by  the  Puritan  party  at 
Hampton  Court,  and  by  the  Presbyterians  at  the 
Savoy  were  of  a  sort  which  the  ecclesiastical  de- 
scendants of  those  who  brought  them  would  be,  to-day, 
the  first  to  declare  frivolous  and  petty. 

"The  thoughts  of  men  are  widened  with  the  process  of  the 
suns ;  " 

and  many  things  that  loomed  large  before  the  eyes  of 
Puritan  and  Churchman  two  hundred  years  ago  look 
insignificant  enough  to  you  and  me. 

As  to  the  very  latest  of  all  the  revisions  of  the 
Prayer  Book,  I  mean  the  one  made  in  this  country 
and  brought  to  a  conclusion  four  years  ago,  any 
extended  remark  is  uncalled-for.  The  changes 
effected  were  none  of  them  of  a  doctrinal  charac- 
ter, but  were  consented  to  on  grounds  of  practical 
expediency,  as  likely  to  heighten  the  book's  useful- 
ness under  the  present  conditions  of  American  life. 
Whether  the  authorities,  in  their  anxiety  "to  keep 
the  mean  between  the  two  extremes  of  too  much 
stiffness  in   refusing  and  of   too  much   easiness   in 


228  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

admitting  any  variation,"  erred  most  on  the  side  of 
boldness  or  on  the  side  of  timidity,  it  must  be  left 
to  the  critics  of  a  future  generation  to  decide. 

Our  swift  review  of  the  history  of  the  Common 
Prayer  concluded,  I  suggest  that  w^e  pass  next  to  a 
study  of  the  book's  characteristics,  literary  and  theo- 
logical, beginning  with  the  former  of  the  two.  And 
here  let  me  say  that  I  welcome  the  fact  that  I  am 
addressing  an  audience  not  supposed  to  be  particu- 
larly alive  to  the  excellences  of  the  Prayer  Book, 
because  it  will  help  to  safeguard  me  against  that 
tendency  to  indiscriminate  eulogy  which  so  many  An- 
glicans betray  when  once  you  start  them  on  the  sub- 
ject of  their  "  incomparable  liturgy."  To  hear  some 
people  talk,  one  would  suppose  that  the  doctrine  of 
verbal  inspiration,  driven  from  the  biblical  precincts, 
had  taken  up  its  abode  in  liturgical  quarters.  It  is 
worth  our  while  to  remember  that  the  worship  of  any 
book  whatever,  whether  a  book  of  Holy  Scripture,  a 
book  of  prayer,  or  a  book  of  destructive  criticism,  is 
"  bibliolatry." 

Of  course  there  are  inequalities  of  style  in  the 
Prayer  Book,  and  divers  varying  grades  of  literary 
excellence.  As  v^ell  go  through  the  Pitti  and  Uffizi 
galleries  affirming  that  all  the  Raphaels  you  may 
happen  to  find  possess  one  and  the  same  artistic 
value  simply  because  signed  by  the  same  hand ;  as 
well  insist  that  "  The  Surgeon's  Daughter"  is  as  good 
a  novel  as  "  Ivanhoe,"  or  "  Troilus  and  Cressida  "  as 
great  a  play  as  "  Hamlet,"  or  "  The  May  Queen  "  as 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER  229 

fine  a  poem  as  the  "  Ode  on  the  Death  of  the  Duke 
of  Wellington,"  as  try  to  make  it  out  that  in  point 
of  loftiness,  dignity,  and  fervor  all  portions  of  the 
Common  Prayer  are  of  a  piece.  The  General  Exhor- 
tation and  the  General  Confession,  for  instance,  stand 
next  to  each  other  in  the  Offices  of  Morning  and 
Evening  Prayer ;  they  are  so  near  that  they  actually 
touch  ;  yet  is  the  one  as  far  removed  from  the  other  in 
style-value  as  silver  is  from  gold. 

The  notes  of  the  style  of  the  Common  Prayer  are 
simplicity,  majesty,  and  tenderness.  Of  course  I  do 
not  mean  that  we  everywhere  find  these  character- 
istics conjoined ;  it  is  not  to  be  expected  or  desired 
that  we  should  ;  all  I  say  is  that  they  are  noticeable 
features  when  we  look  at  the  book  as  a  whole  with  a 
view  to  appraising  its  value  and  fixing  its  place.  The 
simplicity  is  almost  everywhere  present ;  the  majesty 
comes  out  whenever  it  is  a  question  of  addressing  the 
Throne ;  the  tenderness  reveals  itself  in  all  that  is 
said  of  God's  disposition  towards  the  penitent  soul, 
and  in  every  reference  to  the  sorrows  and  calamities 
of  the  mortal  lot. 

The  simplicity  of  the  language  may  be  accounted 
for  on  more  grounds  than  one.  A  chief  reason  for 
putting  forth  the  book  at  all  had  been  the  demand 
for  a  worship  which  the  common  people  could  under- 
stand. As  in  the  case  of  the  translated  Bible,  the 
object  was  to  get  as  far  away  from  the  Latin  tongue 
as  possible.  This  explains,  perhaps,  the  marked  con- 
trast as  respects  the  proportion  of  Saxon  to  Latin 


230  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

derivatives,  between  the  Bible  and  Prayer  Book  on 
the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  not  a  few  of  the 
masterpieces  of  English  letters  produced  at  the  same 
period.  The  secular  authors,  even  though  writing 
English,  were  not  wholly  loath  to  have  the  gold  thread 
of  their  latinity  reveal  itself  pretty  freely  in  the 
texture  of  their  homespun;  but  Tyndale  and  Cran- 
mer  had  another  aim  in  view  altogether,  being  more 
anxious  that  the  ploughboy  should  understand  them 
than  that  the  ear  of  the  university  don  should  detect 
nothing  amiss.  Take  as  an  illustration  the  follow- 
ing prayer  from  the  Matins  of  Edward  the  Sixth's 
First  Book.     I  have  chosen  it  almost  at  random :  — 

"  O  Lord,  our  heavenly  Father,  Almighty  and  ever- 
living  God,  which  hast  safely  brought  us  to  the  beginning 
of  this  day;  Defend  us  in  the  same  with  thy  mighty 
power ;  and  grant  that  this  day  we  fall  into  no  sin  neither 
run  into  any  kind  of  danger  ;  but  that  all  our  doings  may 
be  ordered  by  thy  governance  to  do  always  that  is  righteous 
in  thy  sight,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 

Here  out  of  seventy-one  words,  only  three  —  namely, 
^'  defend,"  "  ordered,"  and  "  governance  "  —  are  Latin 
derivatives.  It  is  probable  that  an  analysis  of  the 
whole  book  would  show  a  similar  ratio. 

Another  guarantee  of  simplicity  was  supplied  by 
the  healthy  realism  characteristic  even  of  those  cor- 
rupt forms  of  devotion  which  Cranmer  and  his  col- 
leagues had  before  them  as  working  models  in  their 
task   of    reconstruction.     Superstitious   as   many   of 


THE  BOOK  OF  COAUION  PRAYER  231 

the  old  formularies  were,  they  could  not  be  charged 
with  indifference  to  things  in  the  concrete.     Hence  we 
find  throughout  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  a  care- 
ful  avoidance   of    figurative   speech,   and   a  jealous 
clinging  to  what  is  substantive  and  real.     An  excep- 
tion should  be  made  with  respect  to  such  imagery 
as  has  the  sanction  of  the  Bible  writers,  —  though 
even  this  is  very  sparingly  employed  ;   but  of  meta- 
phors not  Scriptural,  there  are,  in  the  more  ancient 
and  best-loved  portions  of  the  book,  very  few  indeed. 
The  Litany,  which  a  justly  honored  and  beloved  pro- 
fessor in  this  Seminary,  the  late  learned  Dr.  Shedd, 
once  told  me  he   regarded   as   the   most  wonderful 
compend  of   intercessory  prayer  to   be  found  in  the 
whole  range  of  devotional  literature,  —  the  Litany  is 
devoid  of  figurative  language  altogether.     It  might 
seem,  at  first,  as  if  this  banishment  of   trope   and 
figure,  simile  and  metaphor,  must  involve  a  costly 
sacrifice  of  beauty,  —  but  no,  that  does  not  follow. 
Massiveness  has  a  beauty  of  its  own.     The  interior  of 
Durham  Cathedral  is  severe,  profoundly  so ;  nothing 
could   be  further  removed   from   those   tremendous 
pillars  and  those  solemn   Norman   arches   than  the 
airy  grace  of  the  churches  which  exemplify  the  deco- 
rated Gothic  of  a  later   period;    and  yet  it  never 
occurs  to  anybody  to  speak  of  Durham  as  lacking 
the  element  of  beauty.     It  is  a  grave   and   serious 
beauty  which  reveals  itself  under   that   high   vault, 
but  it  is  beauty.     A  liturgy  which  is  to  live  on,  from 
generation  to  generation,  must  possess  the  sort  of 


232  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

beauty  which  wears.  What  is  fascinating  upon  occa- 
sion does  not  necessarily  meet  our  every-day  need. 
Eloquent  prayers,  tense  with  imaginative  thought 
and  vibrant,  in  a  good  sense,  with  poetic  feeling,  are, 
as  a  rule,  eloquent  only  for  once.  Try  to  repeat 
them  and  they  pall.  The  most  marvellous  burst  of 
eloquence  I  ever  listened  to  in  my  life  was  the  extem- 
poraneous prayer  made  by  Phillips  Brooks  at  the 
Harvard  Commemoration  in  1865.  Even  the  splen- 
dors of  Lowell's  Ode  paled,  for  the  moment,  in  the 
presence  of  that  flame.  It  was  the  very  utterance 
for  which  the  great  occasion  called.  But  it,  or  any 
adaptation  or  paraphrase  of  it,  would  be  simply  pre- 
posterous in  a  liturgy.  You  may  reply  that  if  this 
be  so,  its  being  so  is  the  condemnation  of  liturgies. 
Yes,  perhaps  so,  if  the  conditions  which  made  that 
prayer  possible  could  be  counted  upon  to  reproduce 
themselves  every  Sunday  in  the  fifty-two  that  punc- 
tuate a  year,  and  you  were  sure  of  having  a  poet- 
orator  in  every  pulpit. 

I  spoke  of  majesty  of  speech  as  characterizing 
more  particularly  those  portions  of  the  Common 
Prayer  in  which  we  are  invited  to  draw  near  to  God 
for  purposes  of  adoration.  I  had  especially  in  mind 
the  usage  which  there  obtains,  of  linking  some  attri- 
bute with  the  name  of  Deity  in  the  opening  sentence 
of  every  prayer,  and  thus  imparting  a  certain  sublim- 
ity to  the  very  act  of  crossing  the  threshold  of  wor- 
ship. "  0  God,  who  showest  to  them  that  are  in  error 
the  light   of  thy   truth";   "0   Almighty   God,   who 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER  233 

alone  canst  order  the  unruly  wills  and  affections  of 
sinful  men  " ;  "0  God,  who  never  failest  to  help  and 
govern  those  whom  thou  dost  bring  up  in  thy  stead- 
fast fear  and  love "  ;  "0  God,  who  hast  prepared 
for  those  who  love  thee  such  good  things  as  pass 
man's  understanding,'^  —  these  are  illustrations  of 
what  I  mean.  We  shall  all  of  us  agree  that  tliere  is 
a  quiet  dignity  about  this  method  of  approaching  the 
Most  High  in  worship  which,  without  argument, 
commends  itself  to  a  reverential  mind.  But  not  only 
in  the  prayers,  majesty  is  the  distinguishing  mark  of 
the  praises  as  well.  The  Te  Deum  is  majestic :  "  We 
praise  thee,  0  God,  we  acknowledge  thee  to  be  the 
Lord."  The  Gloria  in  excelsis  is  majestic  :  "  0  Lord 
God,  Lamb  of  God,  Son  of  the  Father,  that  takest 
away  the  sins  of  the  world,  have  mercy  upon  us." 
The  Ter  sanctus  is  majestic  :  "  Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord 
God  of  Hosts,  heaven  and  earth  are  full  of  thy  glory. 
Glory  be  to  thee,  0  Lord  most  High." 

The  other  characteristic  of  which  I  spoke  was 
tenderness.  The  tone  of  the  Prayer  Book  in  its  ap- 
proaches to  the  human  soul  is  gentle,  winning,  com- 
passionate. There  is  notliing  anywhere  between  the 
covers  that  even  remotely  resembles  gush.  There  is 
no  shilly-shallying  with  the  awful  fact  of  sin.  In  the 
Office  for  the  Visitation  of  the  Sick  there  is  no  sug- 
gestion that  opiates  are  a  good  substitute  for  a  quiet 
conscience,  and  in  the  Office  for  the  Visitation  of 
Prisoners  the  words  addressed  to  criminals  under 
sentence  of  death  are  in  refreshing  contrast  to  the 


234  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

maudlin  sentimentalism  which,  with  a  strange  perver- 
sity, too  often  seeks  to  divert  sympathy  from  the  per- 
son wronged  and  to  transfer  it  to  the  unrepentant 
doer  of  the  wrong.  For  tenderness  of  this  morbid 
type,  the  Prayer  Book  has  no  indulgence ;  but  towards 
all  who  sorrow,  and  for  all  who  "  suffer  according  to 
the  will  of  God,"  its  tone  is  everywhere  gentle,  sym- 
pathetic, pitiful,  compassionate.  It  not  only  asks  that 
the  merciful  Lord  will  strengthen  those  wlio  do  stand, 
it  pleads  with  him  to  comfort  the  weak-hearted  and 
to  raise  up  those  who  fall ;  it  remembers  all  who  are 
in  danger,  necessity,  and  tribulation,  all  sick  persons 
and  young  children,  the  prisoners  and  the  captives, 
the  fatherless  and  the  widowed,  and  all  who  are  deso- 
late and  oppressed.  Simplicity,  majesty,  tenderness, 
—  yes,  these  are  certainly  the  features  that  we  should 
wish  to  see  looking  out  upon  us  from  a  manual  of 
worship,  a  book  purporting  to  teach  us  how  to  pray. 

Having  discussed  style,  we  pass  next  to  the  more 
difficult  question  of  doctrine.  What  is  the  theology 
of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  ?  Pray  observe  that 
this  is  a  matter  quite  apart  from  the  Thirty-nine 
Articles  of  Religion.  The  Tliirty-nine  Articles  bear  an 
important  doctrinal  relation  to  the  Church  of  England 
and  to  the  American  Episcopal  Church ;  but  we  are 
not  discussing  these  Churches,  we  are  discussing  the 
Prayer  Book,  and  the  Articles  are  no  part  of  the 
Prayer  Book,  they  make  a  book  of  themselves.  The 
theology  of  the  Prayer  Book  must  be  gathered  from 
within  its  own  covers.    If  we  look  there  to  find  a 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER  235 

system  of  theology  thoroughly  well  bolted  and  riv- 
eted, we  shall  look  in  vain ;  but  this  is  by  no  means 
an  admission  that  the  language  of  the  formularies  is 
that  invertebrate  and  undogmatic  thing  which  some 
would  like  to  see  it  made.  Far  from  it ;  for  not  only 
are  the  ancient  creeds,  in  one  or  other  of  their  au- 
thenticated forms,  made  a  frequent  feature  of  worship, 
the  very  prayers  themselves  are  redolent  of  dogma. 
And  yet  it  is  rare  indeed  to  hear  anybody,  except  an 
extreme  liberal,  complain  of  the  dogmatic  feature  of 
the  Prayer  Book  worship  as  a  grievance.  And  why  ? 
Simply  because  the  dogma  has  been,  if  I  may  be 
allowed  to  coin  a  word,  devotionalized.  In  liturgies, 
as  elsewhere,  much  depends  upon  the  way  of  putting 
things.  By  way  of  illustration,  suppose  we  take  some 
orthodox  statement  of  doctrinal  truth  and  lay  along- 
side of  it  a  devotionalized  form  of  the  same  thought. 
We  are  bent,  for  example,  upon  setting  up  a  barrier 
against  the  arch-heretic  Pelagius  and  his  vicious  doc- 
trine of  human  merit.  Yery  well,  here  is  one  way  of 
doing  it,  the  systematic  way :  "Albeit  that  good  works, 
which  are  the  fruits  of  faith  and  follow  after  justifica- 
tion, cannot  put  away  our  sins  and  endure  the  se- 
verity of  God's  judgment,  yet  are  they  pleasing  and 
acceptable  to  God  in  Christ ;  but  works  done  before 
the  grace  of  Christ  and  the  inspiration  of  his  Spirit 
are  not  pleasant  to  God."  This  of  course  throws  the 
mind  of  the  listener  into  a  critical  and  argumentative 
mood  at  once  ;  but  attend  to  the  same  thought  in  the 
attractive  form  in  which  it  comes  wooing  us  through 


236  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

tlie  lips  of  prayer  on  the  Fifth  Sunday  after  Easter : 
"  O  Lord,  from  whom  all  things  do  come ;  Grant  to 
us  thy  humble  servants,  that  by  thy  holy  inspiration 
we  may  think  those  things  that  are  good,  and  by  thy 
merciful  guiding  may  perform  the  same,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 

Most  will  agree,  I  think,  that  the  liturgical  method 
of  inculcating  the  truth  is,  for  the  ordinary  lay  mind, 
at  any  rate  (and  the  laity  are  much  in  the  majority), 
the  more  persuasive  of  the  two.  I  do  not  for  a  mo- 
ment pretend  to  affirm  that  the  Prayer  Book  is  always 
equally  felicitous  in  its  attempts  to  clothe  the  hard 
skeleton  of  dogma  with  the  warm  flesh  and  blood  of 
a  personal  devotion.  There  are  marked  exceptions. 
The  opening  invocations  of  the  Litany,  and  the  Proper 
Preface,  so  called,  for  Trinity  Sunday  in  the  Com- 
munion Office  are  well-meant  endeavors  to  fasten  the 
Nicene  dogma  in  the  affections  of  the  worshippers ; 
but  the  same  end  would  have  been  more  effectively 
served,  and  the  purposes  of  devotion  far  better  met, 
by  a  few  quotations  from  that  strangely  neglected 
liturgical  treasure-house,  the  Revelation  of  St.  John 
the  Divine.  There  need  have  been  no  real  fear  that 
the  interests  of  Trinitarianism  would  suffer.  The 
Prayer  Book  is  Trinitarian  through  and  through,  warp 
and  woof.  You  would  have  to  put  it  under  axes  and 
hammers,  as  was  once  done  in  Boston,  to  get  the 
Trinitarianism  out  of  it. 

Again,  the  theology  of  the  Prayer  Book  is  pre- 
eminently a  biblical  as  contrasted  with  a  systematic 


THE  BOOK  OF   COMMON  PRAYER  237 

theology.  In  saying  this  I  do  not  mean  to  assert  that 
the  Prayer  Book  is  always  true  to  the  teachings  of 
Holy  Scripture  (though  personally  I  believe  it  so 
to  be),  for  that,  in  this  presence,  would  seem  too 
much  like  begging  the  question  ;  but  what  I  mean  is 
that  the  Prayer  Book  ever  shows  itself  more  solicitous 
that  its  utterances  shall  square  Vv'ith  the  utterances  of 
the  prophets,  the  apostles,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
than  that  they  should  be  absolutely  consistent  in  their 
relations  to  one  another.  In  a  "  system,"  whether  of 
theology  or  of  philosophy,  the  great  point  is  to  avoid 
self-contradiction.  All  things  must  hang  together 
logically  ;  there  must  be  no  broken  link  in  the  coat  of 
mail,  no  gap  between  gorget  and  cuirass  wherethrough 
the  point  of  sword  or  lance  may  pierce.  But  the 
Bible  writers  do  not  seem  to  have  felt  this  sort  of 
anxiety.  First  they  stated  one  truth,  and  then  they 
stated  another  ;  and  the  listener  was  left,  notably  in 
the  case  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  the  most  divine 
of  all  discourses  upon  ethics,  to  discover  for  himself 
the  articulation  of  the  truths  enunciated.  If  they 
seemed  to  him  contradictory,  so  much  the  worse  for 
him. 

I  have  already  once  referred  to  the  doctrine  of 
merit  by  way  of  illustration  ;  let  it  again  serve  us  as  a 
case  in  point.  What  a  very  Arminian  sound,  to  speak 
theologically,  has  the  following  sentence  from  the 
Apocrypha  which  the  Prayer  Book  orders  to  be  read 
at  the  Offertory,  or  Alms-gathering :  "  Be  merciful 
after  thy  power,  if  thou  hast  much  give  plenteously, 


238  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

if  thou  hast  little  do  thy  diligence  gladly  to  give  of 
that  little,  for  so  gatherest  thou  thyself  a  good  re- 
ward." Here  there  seems  to  be  a  very  evident  eye  to 
some  recompense  for  our  deserts.  On  the  other  hand, 
Calvin  himself  would  have  been  satisfied  with  the 
predestinarian  import  of  a  petition  which  occurs  in 
the  very  same  office,  later  on,  where  the  order  of 
request  is  that  tlie  suppliants  may  be  given  grace  to 
do  such  good  works  as  have  been  "  prepared  "  for  them 
"  to  walk  in." 

Another  striking  instance  of  the  Prayer  Book's 
utter  indifference  to  logical  consistency,  when  it  is  a 
question  of  faithfully  reflecting  the  teachings  of  Holy 
Scripture,  is  afforded  by  its  eschatology.  With  re- 
spect to  the  great  central  verity  of  the  resurrection 
to  eternal  life,  there  is  no  uncertain  sound ;  but  as  to 
lesser  points,  and  especially  as  to  the  temporal  rela- 
tions between  death  and  the  judgment,  we  find  in  the 
Prayer  Book  the  same  ambiguity  that  perplexes  us 
in  the  New  Testament.  How  much  better  this  than 
an  attempt  to  be  wise  above  what  is  revealed  ! 

It  remains  to  say  something  about  the  sacramental 
aspects  of  the  theology  of  the  Common  Prayer.  It  is 
here  that  we  come  into  closest  contact  with  that 
great  doctrinal  quarrel  which  underlay  the  whole  six- 
teenth century  movement.  On  its  political  side,  the 
Reformation  was  a  protest  against  absolutism  centred 
at  Rome  ;  on  its  doctrinal  side,  it  was  a  protest  against 
an  overstrained  and  exaggerated  sacramental  sys- 
tem,  or,  as  Froude  bluntly  puts  it,  an  assertion  on 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER  239 

the  part  of  the  laity  of  their  own  intrinsic  spiritual 
rights. 

The  attitude  of  the  Prayer  Book  towards  Roman 
error  under  this  head  is  not  so  much  polemical  as  it  is 
independent  and  self-respecting.  Those  were  not  the 
days  when  Anglicans  waited  with  bated  breath  to 
hear  what  Rome  might  have  to  say  as  to  the  validity 
of  their  orders.  The  men  who  framed  the  Prayer 
Book  had  a  mind  of  their  own,  and  did  not  think  it 
necessary  to  cross  the  mountains  to  search  out  what 
was  Catholic  and  primitive.  It  is  true  that  a  slight 
panicky  feeling  betrays  itself  in  the  famous  suffrage 
of  King  Edward's  Litany,  "From  the  tyranny  of 
the  Bishop  of  Rome  and  all  his  detestable  enormities, 
Good  Lord  deliver  us  " ;  but  this  is  offset  by  the  cour- 
age and  good  sense  which  Elizabeth  showed  in  ex- 
punging the  supersensitive  clause  while  as  yet  the 
embers  of  the  fires  which  her  sister  had  kindled  at 
Smithfield  were  scarcely  cold. 

The  unquestioned  prominence  which  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  assigns  to  sacramental  doctrine  and 
sacramental  practice  is  not  adequately  explained  by 
the  hypothesis  of  a  sort  of  half-way  covenant  with 
Rome.  This  is  a  method  of  dealing  with  the  fact 
more  popular  than  profound.  Journalists  and  littera- 
teurs may  be  pardoned  for  taking  that  view,  but 
serious-minded  theologians  will  scarcely  be  content 
with  it.  The  true  explanation  of  the  emphasis  that 
the  Prayer  Book  lays  upon  sacramental  obligation  and 
sacramental  privilege  is  to  be  found  in  a  conviction 


240  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

toward  which  many  independent  lines  of  present-day 
thought  converge  ;  namely,  the  conviction  that  religion 
is,  after  all,  far  more  an  affair  of  personal  allegiance 
and  personal  intercourse  than  it  is  the  acceptance  of 
a  syllabus  of  sacred  truths,  however  well  authenticated 
or  accurately  dovetailed.  St.  Paul's  aspiration  was 
not  "  that  I  may  know  about  Him,"  it  was  "  that  I 
may  know  Him." 

It  might  seem  to  be  expecting  a  great  deal  of  a 
Church  to  ask  it  to  retain  within  its  confines  two  such 
contrasted  and  apparently  irreconcilable  minds  as 
Pusey  and  Maurice.  Yet  each  of  these  two  men  is 
found  exalting  to  a  very  lofty  place  in  his  religious 
system  the  sacrament  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ. 
What  worthier  explanation  can  we  frame  for  the 
occurrence  of  so  unlooked-for  a  truce  between  hostile 
temperaments  than  to  suppose  that  both  men  have 
discovered  the  emptiness  of  mere  intellectuality  in 
religion,  and,  weary  of  what  one  of  them  was  so  fond 
of  stigmatizing  as  "  a  Gospel  of  notions,"  are  fleeing, 
hungry  and  thirsty,  to  the  presence  of  the  personal, 
the  true,  the  living  Christ. 

The  truth  is,  that  so  far  from  carrying  any  taint  of 
Roman  error,  the  Prayer  Book  Office  for  the  Holy 
Communion  is  probably,  of  all  the  formularies  which 
the  book  contains,  the  one  least  obnoxious  to  such  a 
charge.  The  doctrine  of  the  Eucharist  was  known 
to  be  the  critical  point  in  the  Reformation's  line  of 
defence,  and  it  was  guarded  with  a  corresponding 
jealousy.     That  the  Prayer  Book  Office  still  retains 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER  241 

this  bulwark  character  is  sufficiently  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  those  who  seek  to  make  it  do  duty  as  High 
Mass  are  compelled  to  mutilate  and  dislocate  it 
before  it  can  be  forced  to  lend  itself  to  their  ques- 
tionable purpose. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  history  and  of  the  character- 
istics of  the  Prayer  Book  ;  bear  with  me  a  little 
longer  until  I  shall  have  said  a  few  words  about  its 
possibilities  in  years  to  come. 

It  would  rightly  have  appeared  a  poor  requital  of 
the  courtesy  which  I  began  by  acknowledging,  had  I 
come  here  to  exploit  the  Prayer  Book  as  the  special 
possession  of  the  Communion  in  which  it  happens  to 
be  my  own  privilege  to  serve,  or  to  make  boast  of  its 
excellences  in  the  spirit  of  a  monopolist.  Such  has 
not  been  my  attitude  of  mind,  and  I  should  be 
unhappy  if  I  thought  that  any  one  of  you  who  have 
so  kindly  listened  to  my  imperfect  setting  forth  of  a 
great  subject  had  so  imagined.  I  hold  the  Common 
Prayer  to  be  the  common  property  of  the  whole 
English-speaking  race.  It  was  originally  promul- 
gated with  the  intention  of  its  being  that.  By  what 
disabling  statute  or  repealing  clause,  I  should  like  to 
ask,  has  right  of  ownership  been  since  limited  to  any 
narrower  constituency  ?  There  are,  to  be  sure,  cer- 
tain corporate  bodies  that  hold  the  book  in  trust,  as 
it  were,  for  the  several  nationalities  into  which  the 
Englishry  of  the  sixteenth  century  has,  under  God's 
providence,  wonderfully  developed,  —  there  is  a  stan- 
dard edition  according  to  the  use  of  England,  another 

16 


242  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

according  to  the  use  of  Ireland,  and  another  accord- 
ing to  the  use  of  the  United  States  ;  but  on  the  book's 
titlepage,  high  up  above  these  particulars  of  lesser 
moment,  stands  the  generous  and  inclusive  super- 
scription, "  The  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  Admin- 
istration of  the  Sacraments  and  other  Rites  and 
Ceremonies  of  the  Church."  What  Church  ?  Eng- 
land's Church  ?  Ireland's  Church  ?  No ;  —  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church,  tlie  Congregation  of  Faithful  Men, 
the  Body  of  all  those  who  have  been  baptized  into 
the  Holy  Name.  Do  not  imagine  that  I  am  about  to 
close  a  cool  survey  with  a  perfervid  rhapsody.  I  have 
no  extravagant  expectations  for  the  future  of  the 
Prayer  Book  in  this  country,  though  in  common  with 
many  others  I  entertain  some,  perhaps  not  wholly 
unreasonable,  hopes.  In  the  light  of  the  post-Refor- 
mation history,  covering  now  almost  four  centuries, 
it  does  not  seem  likely  that  liturgical  worship  will 
ever  again  become  universal  throughout  Christendom, 
least  of  all  that  it  will  do  so  in  a  country  like  this. 
If  the  Churcli  to  which  an  eminent  Presbyterian 
divine  has  given  the  felicitous  title  of  "  The  United 
Church  of  the  United  States  "  ever  grows  into  reality, 
the  probability  is  that  we  shall  see  within  its  borders 
public  worship  conducted  with  high  ritual,  with  low 
ritual,  and  with  no  ritual,  by  liturgy  or  by  directory, 
according  to  the  needs,  demands,  and  aptitudes  of 
particular  communities. 

The  Church  of  England  is  the  only  national  Church 
in  Christendom  that  ever  undertook  to  enforce  abso- 


THE  BOOK   OF  COMMON  PRAYER  243 

lute  uniformity  in  public  worship,  and  England's 
attempt  has  been  a  conspicuous  failure.  Ritualists 
and  Evangelicals  succeed  in  making  one  and  the 
same  liturgy  speak  in  very  different  tones ;  while  non- 
conformity, standing  beyond  the  pale  altogether,  con- 
trives to  say  its  prayers  without  the  help  of  any  book 
at  all,  and  yet  keeps  up,  strange  to  say,  a  fair  show  of 
good  works. 

But  let  that  pass.  What  I  am  seeking  to  emphasize 
in  these  closing  words  is  the  common  and  undivided 
interest  which  all  English-speaking  Christians  already 
possess  in  the  ancient  Common  Prayer  if  they  have 
a  mind  to  claim  it.  There  are  no  copyright  restric- 
tions hedging  the  book;  no  ecclesiastical  treasury 
derives  a  royalty  from  its  sale.  Why  should  not 
congregations  of  whatever  name  that  feel  the  need  of 
a  liturgy  take  it  and  use  it,  or  so  much  of  it  as  they 
care  to  use,  instead  of  setting  committees  at  work 
compiling  formularies  which  after  all  would  have  to 
shine  mostly  by  borrowed  light  ?  Scruples  about  the 
ordination  service  need  not  be  an  obstacle ;  for  no 
more  than  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  is  the  Ordinal  a 
part  of  the  Prayer  Book.  The  Prayer  Book  proper 
ends  with  the  Psalms  of  David,  as  a  glance  at  its  table 
of  contents  will  show.  And  these  are  the  words  with 
which  it  ends :  "  Let  everything  that  hath  breath 
praise  the  Lord." 


244  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


Palmer,  Rev.  Wm.,  Orujines  Liturgicce. 

Preeman,  Rev.  Philip,  Principles  of  Divine  Service.    2  vols. 

Breviary,  Salisbury. 

Breviary,  Aberdeen. 

Breviary,  Quignonian. 

Breviary,  Mozarabic. 

Muratori,  Liturgia.     2  vols. 

Gee  and  Hardy,  Documents  illustrative  of  English  Church  History. 

Primers,  The  Three,  of  Henry  VIII. 

Keeling,  Liturgioi  Britannicce. 

Parker,  James,  First  Prayer  Book  of  Edward  VI.  compared  with 
the  successive  Revisions. 

Parker,  James,  Introduction  to  the  History  of  the  Successive  Re- 
visions of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 

Maskell,  Rev.  Wm.,  Ancient  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England. 

Maskell,  Rev.  Wm.,  Monumenta  Ritualia  Ecclesice  Anglicance. 

Walton  and  Medd,  First  Prayer  Book  of  Edward  VI. 

Pickering,  W.,  Reprints  of  Books  of  Common  Prayer,  from  Edward 
to  Victoria.     7  vols. 

Cardwell,  Dr.  E.,  Two  Books  of  Common  Prayer  of  Edward  VI. 
compared. 

Henry  Bradshaw  Society,  Liturgical  publications  of. 

Wheatley,  Rev.  Chas.,  Rational  Illustration  of  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer. 

Sanderson  and  Wrenn,  Bishops,  Fragmentary  Illustrations  of  the 
History  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  from  Manuscript  Sources. 

Blue  Book  of  House  of  Commons,  containing  Revised  Liturgy  of 
1689. 

Hall,  Rev.  Peter,  Reliquice  Liturgicce. 

Hall,  Rev.  Peter,  Fragmenta  Liturgica. 

Baxter,  Rev.  Richard,  A  Petition  for  Peace  with  the  Reformation  of 
the  Liturgy. 

Blunt,  Rev.  J.  H.,  Annotated  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 

Cardwell,  Edward,  History  of  Conferences  and  other  Proceedings  con- 
nected with  the  Revision  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 

Luckock,  Rev.  Canon,  Studies  in  the  History  of  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer. 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER  245 

Daniel,  Rev.  Canon,  The  Prayer  Book,  its  History,  Language,  and 
Contents. 

Proctor,  Rev.  F.,  History  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 

Campion  and  Beaumont,  The  Prayer  Book  Interleaved. 

Hole,  Rev,  Chas.,  Manual  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 

Black-Letter  Prayer  Book  0/1636,  Zinco-photographic  facsimile. 

Manuscript  Prayer  Book  o/1662,  Photographic  facsimile. 

Jehb,  John,  The  Choral  Service  of  the  Churches  of  England  and 
Ireland. 

Stephens,  A.  J.,  Book  of  Common  Prayer  with  Notes  Legal  and  His- 
torical. 

Purchas,  Rev.  J.,  Directorium  Anglicanum. 

Convocation  Prayer  Book. 

Bright  and  Medd,  Liher  Precum  Puhlicarum. 

Scudamore,  Notitia  Eucharistica. 

Maurice,  Rev.  F.  D.,  The  Prayer  Book  and  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

Goulburn,  Dean,  Collects  of  the  Day. 

Selborne,  Earl  of.  Notes  on  some  Passages  in  Liturgical  History  of 
the  Reformed  English  Church. 

Sprott,  Scottish  Liturgies  of  James  VI. 

Huntington,  Rev,  W.  R.,  Short  History  of  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer. 

S.  P.  C.  K.,  Commentary  on  the  Prayer  Book. 

Barry,  Rev.  Wm.,  Teacher's  Prayer  Book. 

Wright,  Rev.  John,  Early  Prayer  Books  of  America. 

M'Garvey,  Rev.  Wm.,  Liturgice  Americance. 

The  Book  Annexed,  Philadelphia,  1883. 

The  Book  Annexed,  as  modified,  New  York,  1885, 

The  Standard  Prayer  Book  of  1892. 


VIII 

THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  ORDER  AND 
THE  DIRECTORY  FOR  WORSHIP 

By  the  Eev.  ALLAN  POLLOK,  D.D. 

Principal  of  the  Presbyterian  College,  Halifax,  N.  S. 


THE    BOOK  OF    COMMON    ORDER  AND    THE 

DIRECTORY  FOR  THE  PUBLIC 

WORSHIP   OF   GOD 

JOHN  KNOX'S  views  on  the  subject  of  public  wor- 
ship may  be  found  in  a  letter  written  to  the 
Protestants  of  Scotland  from  France  in  1556  — four 
years  before  the  Scottish  Reformation.  In  this  he 
advises  for  their  ordinary  assemblies:  first,  Prayer 
with  confession  of  sins  and  invocation  of  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  :  then,  the  reading  of  the  Scripture, 
plainly  and  distinctly :  then,  the  interpretation.  In 
reading  the  Scripture,  he  adds :  "  I  would  ye  should 
join  some  books  of  the  Old  and  some  of  the  New 
Testament  together,  as  Genesis  and  one  of  the  Evan- 
gelists, Exodus  with  another  and  so  forth,  ever  end- 
ing such  books  as  ye  begin :  for  it  shall  greatly 
comfort  you  to  hear  that  harmony  and  well-tuned 
song  of  the  Holy  Spirit  speaking  in  our  fathers  from 
the  beginning."  He  then  recommends  that  common 
prayers  and  intercessions  be  made  for  princes, 
rulers  and  magistrates,  for  the  "liberty  of  the 
Gospel,  the  comfort  of  the  afflicted,  and  the  deliver- 
ance of  persecuted  churches."  This  letter  contains 
the  first  rough  sketch  of  the  worship  of  the  Reformed 


250  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

Church  of  Scotland.  We  must  not  suppose  that  this 
subject  was  new  to  the  Scottish  reformer,  or  that 
in  the  enthusiasm  of  his  anti-Romish  iconoclasm  he 
had  entirely  overlooked  public  worship.  On  his 
release  from  the  French  galleys,  he  had  been  em- 
ployed by  the  English  Privy  Council  preaching  in 
the  north  of  England.  After  two  years'  service  there 
he  was  appointed  one  of  King  Edward's  chaplains-in- 
ordinary  —  a  most  important  office,  which  he  retained 
till  the  king's  death  in  1553.  Thus,  during  four 
years  he  must  have  been  familiar  with  the  liturgy  of 
Edward  VI.,  both  in  its  first  form  and  subsequent 
revision.  Such  an  important  work  as  the  revision 
of  the  first  book  could  not  but  have  occupied  much 
of  his  attention.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Knox  was 
called  up  to  London  and  consulted  on  the  subject, 
and  by  his  influence  significant  changes  were  made 
in  the  communion  office  of  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer.  It  is  important  to  notice  that  the  Scottish 
reformer  had  formed  opinions  on  this  subject  before 
he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Calvin  or  the  Conti- 
nental divines.  In  the  beginning  of  1554  he  sought 
safety  and  found  leisure  in  Geneva,  which  he  de- 
scribed as  "  the  most  perfect  school  of  Christ  that 
ever  was  upon  earth."  There  Calvin  had  fully  estab- 
lished the  Reformed  doctrine  and  worship,  and  here 
he  directed  the  movement  all  over  Europe.  But  soon 
Knox  was  invited  to  take  charge  of  a  congregation 
of  English  exiles,  who  had  been  permitted  to  worship 
in  Frankfort  upon  condition  of  conforming  as  nearly 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  ORDER  251 

as  possible  to  the  worship  of  the  French  church. 
These  Englishmen  accordingly  agreed  to  omit  the 
surplice,  the  litany,  audible  responses,  and  other  cere- 
monies of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  but  discord 
had  begun  when  Knox  arrived,  and,  notwithstanding 
all  his  efforts,  it  continued  till  he  left,  and  with  even 
increased  vehemence  after  his  departure.  In  the 
course  of  these  disputes  between  those  who  were /or 
and  those  who  were  against  the  use  of  Edward's 
book,  Knox,  along  with  some  others,  had  composed 
Avhat  was  afterwards  known  as  the  Book  of  Geneva  — 
a  service  not  the  same  as  the  Genevan  order  but 
closely  resembling  it.  The  name  —  the  Book  of 
Geneva  —  was  derived  from  the  fact  that,  upon 
Knox's  return  to  Geneva,  it  was  printed  and  used 
by  the  English  Kirk  of  Geneva,  of  which  John  Knox 
was  minister.  The  title  of  the  first  edition  states 
that  it  was  approved  by  the  famous  and  learned  man, 
John  Calvin.  From  the  preface,  as  given  in  Dunlop's 
Confessions,  we  find  that  the  date  of  this  first  edition 
is  the  10th  of  February,  1556.  This  is  the  book 
afterwards  known  as  the  Book  of  Common  Order, 
but  commonly  and  not  very  inaccurately  called, 
Knox's  Liturgy.  We  thus  find  that,  in  the  rough 
sketch  addressed  to  the  Scottish  Protestants  in  1556, 
Knox  wrote  from  long  and  sometimes  unpleasant 
familiarity  with  the  subject.  As  was  conspicuously 
the  case  with  Calvin,  we  find  in  all  Knox's  writings 
carefully  composed  prayers.  Neither  of  these  great 
men  could  have  had  the  least  objection  to  written 


252  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

prayers,  and  both  were  familiar  with  liturgical  com- 
position. How  could  they  be  otherwise  when  the 
Bible  is  so  full  of  prayers? 

Knox  returned  to  Scotland  in  1559,  and  the  Scot- 
tish Reformation  was  accomplished  in  1560.  In  the 
interval  between  1556  and  1560,  and  for  four  years 
afterwards,  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  was  used 
in  meetings  of  the  Reforming  party.  In  1557  the 
Scottish  Lords  of  the  Congregation  resolved :  "  That 
the  Common  Prayers  be  read  weekly  on  Sunday  and 
other  festival  days,  publicly  in  the  parish  kirks  with 
the  lessons  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  conform 
to  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer."  The  book  referred 
to  here  was  unquestionably  the  second  book  of  Edward 
as  resumed  and  slightly  amended  at  the  accession 
of  Queen  Elizabeth.  This  was  afterwards  disputed. 
However,  not  only  does  the  wording  of  the  resolution 
imply  it,  but  it  is  established  by  contemporary  testi- 
mony. There  is  not  the  least  doubt  that  they  would 
have  preferred  the  Book  of  Geneva,  but  few  copies 
of  this  were  available  and  copies  of  the  other  could 
easily  be  procured  from  England.  In  the  First  Book 
of  Discipline,  prepared  by  the  famous  jive  Johns,  John 
Winram,  John  Spottiswood,  John  Douglas,  John  Row, 
and  John  Knox,  and  embodying  the  church  principles 
of  the  Scottish  Reformers,  the  Order  of  Geneva  is 
spoken  of  as  "  used  in  our  churches."  In  1562  the 
General  Assembly  enjoined  its  uniform  use  in  the 
administration  of  the  sacraments,  solemnization  of 
marriage,  and  burial  of  the  dead.     In  1564  it  was 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  ORDER  253 

enlarged  and  the  Psalter  completed.  In  this  form 
its  use  was  enjoined  upon  every  minister,  exhorter, 
and  reader.  In  1567  it  was  by  order  of  the  General 
Assembly  translated  into  Gaelic  for  the  use  of  the 
Highlanders.  Probably  it  was  thus  the  first  book 
printed  in  the  Gaelic  language.  It  is  constantly 
referred  to  in  Acts  of  Assemblies  as  the  settled  and 
legalized  form  of  worship  down  to  the  year  1645, 
when  the  Directory  was  authorized  by  the  Scottish 
Estates. 

In  a  copy  of  this  book,  printed  at  Aberdeen  in 
1635  —  that  is,  shortly  before  the  St.  Giles's  riot  in 
1(337  —  I  find  the  following  contents:  a  calendar 
of  the  movable  feasts,  a  short  and  admirable  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  used  in  the  English  congregation  of 
Geneva,  an  extract  from  the  First  Book  of  Discipline 
concerning  ministers,  their  election  and  duties  and 
the  assemblies  of  the  Church,  the  form  of  ordination 
of  ministers,  the  order  of  discipline  in  excommunica- 
tion, repentance  and  absolution  with  all  the  prayers 
prescribed  for  such  services,  the  order  for  the  visita- 
tion of  the  sick,  confessions  and  godly  prayers  for 
the  daily  service  and  special  occasions,  forms  for  the 
communion,  baptism,  and  marriage,  a  treatise  on 
fasting,  with  Scriptures  and  prayers  to  be  used  at 
such  fasts.  The  prayer  for  the  whole  estate  of 
Christ's  Church,  as  in  all  the  liturgies,  follows  the 
sermon.  It  is  concluded  with  the  Lord's  Prayer. 
Then  followed  the  recitation  of  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
after  the  following  preamble :  "  Almighty  and  ever- 


254  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

lasting  God,  vouchsafe,  we  beseech  thee  to  grant  us 
perfect  continuance  in  the  lively  faith,  augmenting 
J  the  same  in  us  daily,  till  we  grow  to  the  full  measure  of 
our  perfection  in  Christ,  whereof  we  make  our  confes- 
sion, saying,  I  believe  in  God,  the  Father  Almighty," 
etc.  This  was  followed  by  the  benediction,  either 
from  Numbers  or  from  2  Corinthians.  The  Psalms 
in  metre,  along  with  a  music  score  in  four  parts  and 
marginal  notes  to  aid  the  worshipper  in  singing  with 
the  understanding,  occupy  two-thirds  of  the  book. 
Thus  it  must  be  seen  that  a  worshipper  in  the  Scots 
church,  for  nearly  a  hundred  years  after  the  Reforma- 
tion, went  to  church  well  provided  for  its  services. 
So  far  as  congregational  worship  is  concerned,  we 
have,  in  losing  these  forms,  not  advanced  but  retro- 
graded. 

On  the  special  features  of  this  form  of  service,  I 
must  restrict  myself  to  but  a  few  observations.  The 
peculiar  title,  "  Book  of  Common  Order,"  was  well 
chosen,  for  various  reasons.  Ordo  is  a  word  which, 
from  the  eighth  century,  was  applied  to  rubrical  di- 
rections for  the  guidance  of  priests  in  the  administra- 
tration  of  the  sacraments.  It  accurately  describes 
services  which  were  sometimes  discretionary  in  their 
parts  but  never  in  their  order.  The  term  "  Common  " 
might  suggest  a  comparison,  perhaps  a  contrast,  with 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  previously  in  use.  It 
was  "  common "  because  it  was  not  only  a  service  hi/ 
the  people  and  not  by  priests  alone,  but  because  it  was 
for  the  people  in  every  church  throughout  the  nation. 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  ORDER  255 

The  word  expresses  the  meaning  which,  in  the  follow- 
ing century,  was  conveyed  by  the  word  ''  uniform, ^^ 
The  churches  throughout  the  land  were  to  have  a 
service  common  to  all.  The  whole  form  is  in  close 
conformity  with  the  Genevan  liturgy  of  1543,  which 
became  the  model  for  all  the  Reformed  liturgies  ex- 
cept that  of  the  English  Church.  The  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer  borrowed  much  from  them,  but  they 
borrowed  nothing  from  it.  Calvin  was  preceded  in 
Geneva  by  Farel,  who  had  swept  away  every  vestige 
of  the  ancient  worship,  so  that  his  successor  was  able 
to  go  directly  back  to  the  Holy  Scriptures  for  guidance 
and  authority.  The  Genevan  morning  service  for  the 
Lord's  day  began  with  the  reading  of  the  appointed 
chapters  of  Holy  Scripture  and  the  Ten  Command- 
ments ;  then,  after  a  very  brief  formula  of  invocation 
and  a  single  sentence  of  exhortation,  with  the  con- 
fession. After  a  psalm  had  been  sung,  a  prayer  for 
ilhimination  followed.  For  this  the  minister  might 
take  a  form  provided  or  one  composed  by  himself. 
The  sermon  was  followed  by  the  prayer  for  all  con- 
ditions, the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  recitation  of  the  Apos- 
tles' Creed,  and  the  benediction.  The  service  was 
long  neither  as  a  whole  nor  in  any  of  its  parts.  The 
minister  was  rigorously  tied  down  to  this  service  once 
a  week,  —  that  is,  on  Sunday  mornings  ;  but  ample 
provision  for  free  prayer  was  made  by  the  rubric  that 
"  On  week  days  the  minister  useth  such  words  in 
prayer  as  may  seem  to  him  good,  suiting  his  prayer 
to  the  occasion  and  the  matter  whereof  he  treats  in 


256  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

preaching."  Such  is  substantially  the  service  now 
maintained  in  all  the  Eeformed  churches  of  the  Eu- 
ropean continent.  All  this  was  reproduced  in  the 
Book  of  Common  Order ;  except  that  the  prayer  after 
sermon  might  be  varied,  according  to  a  rubrical  per- 
mission, —  a  liberty  of  which  Knox  often  availed 
himself  in  his  conflicts  with  the  Court.  In  the  ser- 
vices for  baptism,  the  communion,  and  marriage, 
everything  is  prescribed,  and  no  latitude  is  given  to 
the  minister.  The  communion  was  to  be  ministered 
once  a  month,  or  as  oft  as  expedient,  and  baptism 
and  marriage  were  to  be  in  church  on  the  Sabbath 
day  in  presence  of  the  congregation. 

The  fundamental  principle  of  all  the  Reformed 
liturgies,  the  Anglican  excepted,  is  the  conjunction  of 
free  with  prescribed  prayer.  The  advantages  and 
disadvantages  in  each  were  balanced  by  using  both. 
But  there  was  a  common  Order ;  so  that  in  the  sub- 
stance and  succession  the  worshipper  always  knew 
what  was  coming,  and  confusion  and  surprise  were 
prevented.  At  the  same  time,  as  it  was  not  accord- 
ant with  primitive  Christianity  to  restrain  all  expres- 
sion of  the  free  spirit,  free  prayer  was  allowed  in  one 
part  of  the  daily  service  and  encouraged  in  all  other 
meetings  of  the  Church.  The  rubrical  directions  for 
baptism,  the  communion,  and  marriage,  allowed  no 
deviation ;  because  these  were  of  the  nature  of  vows 
or  engagements.  A  very  special  feature  was  the 
extensive  use  made  of  the  psalms.  Calvin  clearly 
perceived  that  the  psalms  were  the  Church's  response 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  ORDER  257 

to  the  Pivine  message.     This  response   burst  from 
human  hearts  in  a  warm  tide  of  emotion  diversified 
by  all  kinds  of  experience.    The  psalmist  might  speak 
in  the  first  person,  but  he  spoke  as  a  representative 
believer  and  an  organ  of  inspiration.     The  psalms  are 
the  voice  of  the  Church.     They  everywhere  breathe  a 
churchly  spirit,  and  they  were  written  not  to  be  read 
or  recited  but  to  be  sung,  and  if  possible  sung  respon- 
sively.     It  may  be  confidently  affirmed  that  this  col- 
lection of  sacred  song  can  never  with  propriety  be 
omitted   from  the   services   of   the   Church   of   that 
God  whom  its  devout  aspirations  bring   so   near   to 
the  human  soul,  or  that  anything  can  be  found  on 
earth  to  take  its  place.    When  we  hear  it  merely  read 
by  the  minister,  the  psalm  strikes  the  ear  with  a  kind 
of  inverted  majesty.     It  must  in  some  way  be  uttered 
by  the  Church  which  has  been  divinely  furnished  with 
this  voice  in  which  to  call  upon  and  cry  out  to  the 
living  God.     The  minister's  part  in  the  service  was 
confession,  intercession,  and  preaching,  to  which  the 
people  replied  in  the  psalms  by  adoration,  praise,  and 
exhortation.     The   minister's    prayers    contain    only 
confession  and  intercession,  and  without  the  psalms 
would  have  furnished  an  incomplete  service.     Calvin 
wholly   rejected   audible   responses   without   musical  v 
expression  as  fitted  not  to   awaken   but   to   disturb 
devotion.     The  psalms  were  translated  into  metre  by 
Clement  Marot  and  Theodore  Beza  and  set  to  plain 
tunes  which  could  easily  be  followed  by  the  whole 
people.     Knox  adopted  the  same  method,  using  for 

17 


258  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

this  purpose  the  version  of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins. 
This  psalm  singing  was  so  marked  a  feature  that  the 
whole  Book  of  Common  Order  was  usually  called 
'*  The  Psalm  Book "  not  only  in  common  speech  but 
in  Acts  of  Assembly.  The  liturgy  and  the  psalms  in 
Geneva  and  Scotland  were  invariably  bound  together. 
All  the  prayers  in  the  Book  of  Common  Order  and  in 
the  Geneva  liturgy  are  models  of  simplicity  and  com- 
prehensiveness, but  the  daily  offices  are  especially 
beautiful.  The  morning  prayer  was  being  heard  by 
Coligny  when  the  assassins  burst  into  his  chamber; 
and  the  evening  prayer  was  read  to  John  Knox  two 
hours  before  he  expired.  When  asked  if  he  had 
heard  it,  he  replied,  "  Would  that  you  and  all  men 
had  heard  as  I  have  heard  it.  I  praise  God  for  that 
heavenly  sound." 

The  last  edition  of  the  Book  of  Common  Order  was 
issued  in  1644,  and  the  Directory  was  adopted  by  the 
General  Assembly  in  1645.  In  a  work,  known  to  be 
by  Alexander  Henderson,  published  in  1641,  and 
intended  to  correct  an  impression  prevalent  in  Eng- 
land that  the  Scots  had  no  settled  forms  of  worship, 
he  describes  the  worship  in  his  day.  The  churches 
were  open  every  day  for  the  reading  of  prayers,  and 
on  one  day  of  each  week  there  was  a  regular  service 
with  sermon.  On  Sundays  at  7  o'clock  a  bell  was 
rung  to  warn  the  people  to  prepare  for  public  worship. 
Another  bell  at  8  o'clock  served  to  assemble  the  con- 
gregation. Each  person  on  entering  the  church 
bowed  in  silent  prayer.     As  there  were  no  pews,  the 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  ORDER  259 

men  stood  while  the  women  sat  on  chairs  or  stools. 
The  reader  read  from  the  lectern  the  common  prayers 
and  gave  out  psalms  to  be  sung.  The  singing  was 
always  concluded  with  the  "  Gloria  Patri."  He  then 
read  chapters  from  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 
After  an  hour  another  bell  announced  the  entrance  of 
the  minister,  who  bowed  as  the  people  had  done. 
Many  have  wondered  at  the  ringing  of  three  bells  in 
Scotch  churches  on  Sunday  mornings  and  inquired 
what  it  is  done  for.  It  is  simply  a  survival  of  the  old 
worship.  We  have  lost  the  prayers,  and  for  our  com- 
fort or  vexation  we  have  the  bells.  The  minister 
began  with  a  conceived  prayer,  which  was  understood 
to  be  for  illumination.  Then  followed  the  sermon, 
the  prayer  for  all  estates,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Creed, 
and  the  benediction  —  all  forming  a  service,  scrip- 
tural in  character,  logical  in  structure,  and  in  harmony 
with  the  order  of  all  Reformed  churches  on  the  Euro- 
pean continent.  It  was  not  tedious,  as  the  age  of 
long  sermons  and  long  prayers  had  not  arrived.  The 
Scots  church  would  have  retained  it  substantially  till 
now  but  for  the  violent  interference  of  the  authorities 
of  another  church  and  another  people. 

At  the  accession  of  James  I.,  a  Presbyterian  king, 
the  Puritan  members  of  the  Church  of  England  hoped 
for  some  relief  from  obnoxious  ceremonies ;  but  their 
most  reasonable  requests  were  contemptuously  re- 
jected. He  told  them  that  they  must  conform,  or  lie 
would  harry  them  out  of  the  land.  Under  Charles  I., 
persecution  more  and  more  increased  till  the  meeting 


y 


260  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

of  the  Long  Parliament,  when  the  situation  was 
reversed,  and  Laud  was  sent  to  the  prison  to  which  he 
had  consigned  so  many  conscientious  men.  The  Scots, 
in  defence  of  their  despised  and  insulted  worship,  had 
invaded  England,  and  when  their  Commissioners  were 
treating  with  the  king  at  Eipon,  Commissioners  from 
the  Long  Parliament  arrived  for  a  similar  purpose. 
It  was  at  this  point  that  the  Scots  and  English  began 
to  co-operate.  In  164B  —  a  year  after  the  civil  war 
had  begun  —  English  Commissioners  appeared  at  the 
General  Assembly  in  Edinburgh  and  proposed  a 
league  between  the  two  kingdoms.  As  the  Scots 
desired  a  religious  covenant  also,  the  Solemn  League 
and  Covenant  was  subscribed  by  both  nations.  It 
was  in  consequence  of  this  conjunction  that  Scottish 
Commissioners  went  to  the  Westminster  Assembly  — 
an  English  Council  called  by  the  Long  Parliament  to 
reform  the  English  Church.  We  do  not  know  what 
reforms  the  English  divines  might  have  made  in  the 
Church  of  England,  nor  what  kind  of  polity  or  worship 
or  discipline  they  would  have  established  without  the 
aid  of  the  Scots,  but  we  do  know  that  it  was  in  con- 
sequence of  this  treaty  that  the  Scots  gave  up  their 
ancient  Book  of  Common  Order  and  adopted  the 
Westminster  Directory. 

It  may  be  well  to  review  the  situation  at  this  junc- 
ture. The  grand  aim  of  the  Court  had  been  to  reduce 
the  Church  of  Scotland  to  the  English  pattern,  and  in 
this  there  was  some  progress  made,  for  bishops  had 
been  established  in  Scotland  for  twenty-eight  years. 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  ORDER  261 

Uniformity  in  both  kingdoms  was  the  dream  of  James 
and  Charles  and  Laud,  and  they  fondly  hoped  to  have 
it  realized.     But  worship  touched  the  feelings  of  the 
Scottish  people  more  than  polity,  and  when  a  new 
liturgy  was  forced  upon  them  and  their  old  one  was 
superseded,  then  the  Scots  threw  down  bishops,  abol- 
ished the  Perth  Articles,  and  cancelled  all  the  offen- 
sive legislation  from  1605  to  1638.     Along  with  this 
movement  in  Scotland,  Charles  and  Laud  were  forcing, 
by  the  most  cruel  penalties,  uniformity  in  England. 
When  the  Scots  took  up  arms  to  fight  for  their  reli- 
gion, the  necessities  of  the  king  compelled  him  to 
summon  a  parliament  which  at  once  took  cognizance 
of  the  religious  grievances  of  the  English  nation.    Thus 
the  king  had  arrayed  against  him  the  religious  people 
of  both  nations.     Uniformity  was  still  aimed  at,  but 
now  the  parties  had  changed  places.     By  the  Solemn 
League   and    Covenant,  the    Scots    sought    uniform- 
ity, but  it  was  Scotch  Presbyterian  uniformity,  with 
which  they  hoped  to  bless  England.    With  such  views 
and  expectations,  the  Scots  Commissioners  came  to 
the  Westminster  Assembly  in  the  autumn  of  1643. 
As  representatives  of  the  Scots  church  and  nation, 
they  were  received  with  much  respect  by  the  members 
of  what  has  been  called  the  most  grave  and  learned 
Assembly  of  the  Church  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles. 
Upon  the  12th  October,  the  Lords  and  Commons  or- 
dered the  Assembly  to  commence  the  work  of  framing 
a  Directory  of  Public  Worship.     Previous  to  this  the 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant  had  been  taken  by  the 


262  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

House  of  Commons,  the  Lords,  the  Assembly  of  Di- 
vines, and  the  Scots  Commissioners,  in  St.  Margaret's 
Church,  Westminster,  and  had  been  sent  back  to 
Edinburgh  to  be  subscribed  throughout  the  kingdom. 
It  was  under  this  conjunction  and  covenant  that  Puri- 
tan and  Presbyterian  now  united  in  framing  a  form 
for  public  worship  and  Church  offices.  The  Scots 
Commissioners,  six  in  number,  sat  as  a  body  of  assess- 
ors, with  voices  but  no  votes,  treating  in  the  name  of 
Scotland  for  uniformity  with  England,  and  they  took 
more  than  their  share  in  the  debates  of  an  Assembly 
which  sat  without  intermission  for  five  and  a  half 
years.  Their  influence  arose,  not  from  their  number, 
which  was  small,  nor  from  their  talents,  which  were 
great,  but  from  their  representing  the  Scotch  nation. 
The  preparation  of  the  Directory  was  intrusted  to  a 
small  committee  consisting  of  Marshall,  Palmer, 
Goodwin,  Young,  Herle,  and  the  Scots  Commission- 
ers. From  this  it  might  be  expected  that  the  Direc- 
tory would  be  more  Scotch  than  English  in  its  cast. 
In  fact,  the  important  sections  on  prayer,  preaching, 
and  the  administration  of  the  sacraments  were  ulti- 
mately left  to  Henderson  and  his  fellow  Commission- 
ers alone.  The  thirteenth  volume  of  Lightfoot's 
works,  containing  liis  "  Notes "  and  Baillie's  letters, 
give  the  most  distinct  account  of  the  debates  on  the 
Directory,  wliich  are  recorded  under  fifty-four  sessions 
in  the  end  of  the  second  volume,  and  twenty-one  at 
the  beginning  of  the  third  of  the  Minutes.  Not  only 
had  they  the  co-operation  of  thirty  lay  assessors  from 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  ORDER  263 

the  Long  Parliament,  but  their  decisions  were  sub- 
mitted to  that  body  for  confirmation  or  amendment. 
The  sentiments  of  the  English  parliamentarj  govern- 
ment were  thoroughly  Erastian,  and  they  did  not 
scruple  to  make  important  corrections  upon  drafts  of 
the  Directory  as  passed  by  the  divines.  The  work 
was  continued  throughout  1644,  completed  in  Decem- 
ber, and  sanctioned  by  Parliament.  In  February,  1645, 
the  Scottish  Estates  ratified  and  approved  it  in  all  the 
heads  and  articles  thereof.  It  ought  to  be  noted  that 
the  Scots  General  Assembly  passed  it  with  two  reser- 
vations —  one  relating  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  in  which 
they  say  that  there  must  be  a  table  and  the  communi- 
cants must  distribute  the  elements  among  themselves, 
and  the  other  maintaining  the  order  and  practice  of 
the  Scots  Kirk  in  all  matters,  except  where  they  are 
otherwise  ordered  and  appointed  in  the  Directory. 
These  are  important  reservations.  The  Scots  were 
stiffly  opposed  to  the  Independents  in  their  manner 
of  distributing  the  elements  to  the  people  in  their 
pews,  as  well  as  to  the  Anglican  method  of  the  min- 
ister giving  them  to  each  communicant.  They  held, 
as  true  Presbyterians,  a  place  between  these  two  ex- 
tremes. The  second  reservation  betrays  their  attach- 
ment to  their  own  ancient  service  and  their  desire  to 
preserve  as  much  of  it  as  they  possibly  could. 

The  Preface  of  the  Directory,  which  sets  forth  the 
views  and  aims  of  the  Divines,  should  be  carefully 
studied  by  all  who  would  understand  this  formulary. 
It  refers  almost  solelv  to  Endand  and  the  English 


264  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

Church.  They  say,  "  We  have  resolved  to  lay  aside 
the  former  liturgy  with  the  many  rites  and  cere- 
monies formerly  used  in  the  worship  of  God,  and  have 
agreed  upon  this  following  Directory  for  all  the  parts 
of  public  worship  at  ordinary  and  extraordinary 
times,"  etc.  It  is  called  a  "Directory"  to  distinguish 
it  from  a  liturgy,  wherein  all  is  set  down  to  be  fol- 
lowed without  change  and  no  discretion  is  allowed. 
Here  the  general  heads,  the  sense  and  scope  of  the 
prayers,  are  given  "  that  there  may  be  a  consent  of 
all  the  churches  in  those  things  that  contain  the 
substance  of  the  service  and  worship  of  God." 
The  meaning  of  this  is  that,  though  the  majority 
desired  a  fixed  order  in  all  the  churches,  the  Inde- 
pendents did  not  wish  even  a  Directory,  but  entire 
and  unrestricted  liberty — which  some  may  think  to  be 
the  beau  ideal  of  public  worship  and  of  which  we  now 
have  enough  and  to  spare.  The  name  "  Directory  " 
implies  that  the  rubrics  and  forms  were  to  be  strictly 
followed,  except  in  parts  where  latitude  is  allowed. 
Clauses  or  expressions  conceding  liberty  in  some 
parts  surely  imply  that  in  other  cases  the  minister 
is  bound  by  the  rubric.  Without  this  restraint  the 
book  could  not  be  even  a  Directory.  Those  who  do 
as  they  please  follow,  not  the  Presbyterians,  but  the 
Independents.  Also  in  the  matter  of  order  the  min- 
ister is  not  left  free,  except  where  an  alternative  is 
allowed.  Tliis  rule  applies  to  the  order  of  topics  in 
prayers  and  exhortations.  For  example,  along  with 
the  prayer  of  confession  before  sermon  is  the  prayer 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  ORDER  265 

for  all  conditions  ;  but  the  rubric  allows  the  latter  to 
come  after  the  sermon  and  change  places  with  the 
thanksgiving.  As  it  was  designed  by  having  a  Di- 
rectory that  the  worshippers  should  always  know 
what  part  to  expect  next,  the  order  of  service  and  of 
topics  was  not  discretionary.  The  Preface  was  de- 
bated for  six  sessions  principally  upon  the  point 
whether  the  prayer-outlines  might  be  moulded  into 
prayers  or  not.  The  Independents  were  against  this, 
and  to  satisfy  them  it  was  left  indefinite  ;  so  that 
each  minister  might  decide  this  for  himself.  Light- 
foot,  the  Rabbinical  scholar  of  his  age,  said  that  "  it 
was  dangerous  to  hint  anything  against  a  form  of 
prayer."  Curiously,  there  is  no  mention  of  the  pos- 
ture of  the  worshippers  in  prayer,  but  historical 
testimonies  prove  this  to  have  been  either  kneeling 
or  standing,  and  never  sitting,  except  during  Com- 
munion. The  long  prayer  before  sermon  is  referred 
to  by  Baillie  as  "  a  new  fancy  of  the  Independents  "  —  / 
"  contrary  to  all  the  practice  of  the  church,  old  or 
late."  This  outline,  consisting  of  confession  and  in- 
tercession, admits  of  easy  separation  into  two  distinct 
prayers.  Tiie  public  reading  of  passages  from  both 
Testaments  is  enjoined  as  an  act  of  worship.  The 
Scriptures  must  be  read  in  course,  and  no  comments 
are  allowed  till  the  reading  is  ended,  lest  the  word 
of  God  should  be  intermingled  with  the  word  of  man. 
Private  prayer  on  entering  the  church  is  presupposed 
by  the  rubric  which  says  that  '*  if  any  be  hindered 
from  being    present  at  the  beginning,  they  ought 


266  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

not,  when  they  come  into  the  congregation,  betake 
themselves  to  their  devotions."  Here  the  exception 
clearly  establishes  the  rule.  The  minister  also  bowed 
on  entering  the  pulpit,  until  this  also  was  abandoned 
to  please  the  Brownists  and  their  followers,  and  so, 
when  the  minister  gave  up  this  becoming  practice, 
the  people  did  the  same.  This  custom,  the  use  of 
the  Gloria  and  the  Lord's  Prayer,  long  used  in  Scot- 
land, were  surrendered  by  the  Scots,  to  the  sorrow  of 
a  great  many  devout  ministers  and  people.  But 
regard  for  the  Directory  might  have  preserved  one 
of  them,  for  it  says :  "  And,  because  the  prayer  which 
Christ  taught  his  disciples  is  not  only  a  pattern  of 
prayer  but  itself  a  most  comprehensive  prayer,  we 
recommend  it  also  to  be  used  in  the  prayers  of  the 
Church."  Notwithstanding  these  words,  it  is  not  long 
since  it  was  scarcely  ever  heard  in  our  churches. 
The  compilers,  following  the  Book  of  Common  Order, 
intended  it  probably  to  be  introduced  as  a  conclusion 
to  the  last  prayer,  which  is  the  prayer  of  thanks- 
giving and  Christian  hope.  It  has  been  thought  very 
strange,  especially  in  these  days,  when  singing  often 
occupies  so  much  of  the  time  in  public  worship,  that 
so  little  place  is  assigned  to  it  in  the  Directory.  It 
is  referred  to  incidentally  after  the  reading,  and 
again  after  the  last  prayer  it  is  said :  "  Let  a  psalm, 
[not  part  of  a  psalm],  be  sung,  if  with  conveniency  it 
may  be  done."  There  is  reason  to  believe  that,  as 
expressed  in  the  first  Book  of  Discipline,  singing  was 
regarded  as  "a  profitable  but  not  necessary  part  of 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  ORDER  267 

worship."  This  may  have  been  the  prevalent  feeling 
in  England,  but  it  was  not  so  among  the  Scottish 
presbyters,  who  had  long  been  accustomed  to  the 
singing  of  the  Psalms  as  an  indispensable  part  of 
Presbyterian  worship ;  and  hence,  when  Rouse's  ver- 
sion had,  after  considerable  amendment,  been  sanc- 
tioned by  the  divines  and  the  Long  Parliament  in 
1646  and  sent  down  to  Scotland  for  adoption,  the 
Scots  were  not  as  compliant  as  formerly.  They  con- 
tinued to  correct  and  compare  it  with  their  own  and 
other  versions,  and  to  ask  for  the  advice  of  presby- 
teries —  in  fact  to  take  the  utmost  pains  to  secure 
a  suitable  version  and  it  was  not  till  1650  that  our 
present  version  of  the  Psalms  was  finally  passed.  It 
was  thus  not  part  of  the  covenanted  uniformity  and 
it  can  only  with  a  qualification  be  called  Rouse's 
version.  It  is  to  this  that  we  owe  the  preservation  of 
the  old  versions  of  the  100th  Psalm  by  Wm.  Keith, 
the  old  124th  by  Whittingham,  the  brother-in-law  of 
Calvin  and  the  noble  second  versions  of  Psalms  102, 
136,  143,  and  145,  by  John  Craig,  the  friend  of  Knox 
and  minister  of  Holyrood. 

Coming  to  special  services,  baptism  must  be  ad- 
ministered in  church  and  in  the  face  of  the  congre- 
gation —  that  is,  not  in  a  font  at  the  door.  Sponsors 
are  dispensed  with,  but,  in  the  necessary  absence  of 
the  father,  the  child  may  be  presented  by  a  Christian 
friend.  This  is  accordant  with  Westminster  doc- 
trine :  that  a  child's  title  to  baptism  is  its  federal 
holiness  in  ridit   of  descent  from  those  who   were 


268  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

by  profession  under  the  covenant  of  grace.  The 
form  contains  no  profession  of  faith,  no  creed,  no 
vows,  and  no  questions ;  but  a  promise  for  the  perform- 
ance of  duty  is  required.  These  seem  to  have  been 
either  excluded  or  expunged  by  the  Independents  — 
perhaps  by  the  long  Parliament.  However,  in  the 
Book  of  Common  Order  there  is  no  promise  required, 
but  the  Apostles'  Creed  is  rehearsed  and  expounded. 
In  the  absence  of  any  formal  and  explicit  engage- 
ment, the  instruction  is  very  carefully  worded  and 
was  meant  to  be  used  as  a  form.  It  embodies  the 
doctrine  of  the  Westminster  divines,  that,  though  the 
grace  of  baptism  is  not  tied  to  the  time  of  its  admin- 
istration, it  ought  to  be  desired  and  prayed  for  as  a 
blessing  to  be  conferred  in  God's  own  time,  whether 
then  or  afterwards.  If  the  seal  has  no  connection 
with  the  sign,  we  cannot  justify  the  baptism  of  infants 
at  all.  The  whole  Order  is  most  complete,  and 
wholly  opposed  to  views  which  are  more  Socinian 
than  Catholic  or  Presbyterian.  It  is  a  manifest 
defect  that  there  is  no  Order  for  the  baptism  of 
adults.  As  to  the  mode  :  sprinkling  was  preferred, 
but  dipping  was  not  excluded.  There  was  much 
debate  in  this  matter,  but  it  was  not  as  to  the  one 
right  mode,  but  as  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other.  The 
exhortation  to  the  people  to  improve  their  baptism  is 
a  special  feature.  The  Avhole  service,  including  the 
prayers,  is  most  impressive  and  well  worthy  of  close 
adherence. 

As  the  communion   signalized  the  differences  be- 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  ORDER  269 

tween  the  Scots  and  the  English,  and  especially  the 
Independents,  the  debates  upon  this  section  were 
long  and  ardent.  It  took  up  eighteen  sessions. 
They  at  last  agreed  upon  the  word  "  frequently " 
and  left  the  frequency  to  be  determined  by  each 
congregation.  The  qualification  was  reduced  to  the 
smallest  dimensions,  probably,  by  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. Only  the  ignorant  and  scandalous  are  ex- 
cluded. In  the  rubric  a  table  is  mentioned,  but  tlie 
Independents  were  for  what  has  been  called  "  simul- 
taneous communion  '^  —  to  which  the  Scots  would 
never  consent.  The  phrase  "  about  it  or  at  it "  ex- 
pressed compromise,  and  each  nation  lield  fast  by  its 
own  way.  Tlie  Scots  table-services,  once  universal, 
have  now  nearly  disappeared,  and  have  carried  away 
many  holy  associations  and  sweet  remembrances  with 
them.  The  Scots  way,  v/hich  continued  under  some- 
times very  trying  circumstances  —  in  the  church  and 
in  the  wilderness  —  for  three  hundred  years  was  near- 
est to  the  Institution.  At  the  risk  of  being  called  a 
laudator  temporis  acti  I  must  say  that  I  would  much 
prefer  it  still.  The  change  which  the  divines  could 
not  make  has  been  the  work  of  church  builders  and 
building  committees  who  made  no  provision  in  the 
pews  for  this  ancient  mode  of  celebration.  In  this 
we  have  gone  completely  over  to  the  Independents. 
There  must  be  an  address,  called  sometimes  fencing, 
before  the  prayer  of  consecration.  There  is  no  lit- 
urgy in  modern  times  without  it.  The  prayer  in- 
cludes the  three  elements  of  thanksgiving,  a  profession 


270  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

of  faith,  and  an  invocation.  There  was  a  debate  as 
to  the  distribution.  In  the  Scottish  practice  the 
communicants  lianded  the  elements,  the  one  to  the 
other.  In  the  rubric  this  matter  is  left  undecided. 
The  prayer  at  the  close  is  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving. 
In  Scotland  the  post-communion  prayer  has  always 
included  intercession  for  all  ranks  and  a  strong  ex- 
pression of  Christian  hope  of  reunion  with  departed 
saints.  This  is  a  natural  conclusion  to  a  service 
which  not  only  expresses  but  ought  always  to  be  a 
communion  of  saints — a  remembrance  of  the  living 
and  the  dead.  Such  a  prayer  in  the  morning  service 
would  be  premature,  would  interrupt  the  preparatory 
work  and  would  make  it  tedious,  so  that,  on  com- 
munion Sundays,  it  should  be  kept  till  the  close. 
On  ordinary  days,  if  the  rubric  is  followed,  the  first 
prayer  would  be  the  prayer  of  faith,  the  second  the 
prayer  of  charity,  and  the  last  the  prayer  of  hope. 

Thus  was  the  most  important  part  finished  and  sent 
up  to  Parliament.  The  rest  refers  to  the  sanctifica- 
tion  of  the  Lord's  day,  marriage,  fast  days  and  days  of 
thanksgiving,  the  visitation  of  the  sick,  the  burial  of  the 
dead,  and  the  singing  of  psalms.  Marriage  is  to  be  in 
church,  and,  contrary  to  the  Book  of  Common  Order, 
it  is  recommended  that  it  be  not  on  Sunday.  In 
many  places  where  Presbyterians  began  to  celebrate 
marriage  in  church,  they  were  denounced  as  innovators 
and  imitators  of  another  church.  The  marriage  ser- 
vice, both  in  its  rubrics,  address,  and  prayers,  is  most 
admirable,  and  it  is  not  long.     The  v/ord  "  obey  "  is 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  ORDER  271 

not  omitted  from  the  formula,  and  it  need  not  be,  as 
probably  the  persons  addressed  will,  as  of  yore,  rejoice 
in  doing  just  as  they  please.  The  words,  "  without 
any  further  ceremony,"  refer  to  the  custom  of  giving 
the  ring,  which,  so  far  as  the  minister  is  concerned,  is 
discharged.  There  is  no  service  permitted  at  funerals, 
but  some  word  of  exhortation  is  allowed.  This  rigor 
was  too  severe  to  last,  and  prayers  at  the  house  forced 
themselves  into  our  practice  under  the  pretext  of 
giving  and  returning  thanks  where  refreshments 
were  common.  Now  a  reasonable  impulse  has  brought 
in  prayers  also  at  the  grave.  No  former  abuses  could 
justify  such  a  stringent  prohibition  of  religious  ex- 
pression when  earth  opens  its  mouth  to  fulfil  the 
primeval  curse,  when  we  stand  round  the  grave  as 
more  than  conquerors  through  Him  that  loved  us, 
and  God  has  opened  up  such  an  opportunity  for  ad- 
monishing the  living.  This  is  certainly  one  of  the 
most  serious  omissions  in  the  Directory,  —  a  book 
which  may  be  old,  but  is  not  antiquated,  —  may  be 
neglected,  but  is  not  obsolete.  In  all  its  ritual  it 
embodies  Westminster  doctrine,  and,  even  without 
such  emendations  as  the  Church  might  and  should 
make,  a  more  strict  observance  of  its  forms  would  be 
an  improvement  upon  much  of  our  present  practice. 
In  Scotland  the  Directory  was  adopted  in  evil  times. 
Montrose,  an  apostate  from  the  Covenant  and  its 
legislation,  was  slaying  thousands  of  its  people.  If 
he  had  been  successful,  he  would  have  restored  the 
Book   of  Common   Order.      Betwixt   1645   and  the 


272  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

Restoration,  all  was  confusion,  and  the  book  was  only 
imperfectly  brought  into  use.  From  the  Restoration 
to  the  Revolution,  matters  were  worse,  and  neither 
prelatists  nor  Presbyterians  had  any  fixed  form. 
They  were  in  that  happy  state  which  many  think  the 
best.  Both  prayed  entirely  without  book,  as  long  or 
as  short  and  in  whatever  order  they  pleased.  The 
Directory  was  not  legally  sanctioned  at  the  Revolu- 
tion, which  was  a  compromise  in  all  respects.  Only 
the  confession  was  adopted,  and  the  Church  was  left 
without  even  a  catechism  or  a  form  of  worship.  By 
repeated  Acts,  however,  down  to  1856  the  General 
Assembly  has  endeavored  to  strengthen  the  authority 
of  the  Directory ;  so  that  it  is  at  this  time  the  only 
proper  standard  of  public  worship.  As  all  this  took 
place  before  the  divisions  in  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
the  Directory  occupies  the  same  position  in  the  non- 
established  Churches  in  Scotland  and  England,  two 
of  which  have  marked  their  desire  for  improvement 
by  authorizing  forms  for  special  services.  The  book 
issued  by  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  is  of  such 
a  character  that  it  must  be  a  great  help  to  ministers 
and  people  of  that  large  nnd  respectable  body  of 
Christians.  The  Euchologion,  or  Book  of  Common 
Order,  first  published  by  the  Church  Service  Society 
in  1865,  and  now  in  its  fourth  or  fifth  edition,  has 
wrought  a  reformation  in  the  worship  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  as  well  as  other  Presbyterian  churches. 
The  professed  object  of  this  Society  has  been  not 
innovation  upon  the   present,  but  restoration  of  the 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  ORDER  273 

past.  It  has  been  dominated  by  a  spirit  of  reverence 
for  old  Presbyterian  forms.  The  existence  of  asso- 
ciations in  all  the  three  Presbyterian  churches  in 
Scotland  and  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  England, 
having  similar  end«  in  view,  and  discussing  such  sub- 
jects as  not  only  an  amended  Directory  but  also  an 
optional  liturgy  with  some  responses,  the  rehearsal  of 
the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Apostles'  or  Nicene  Creed, 
and  the  reading  of  the  Ten  Commandments,  shows 
plainly  how  the  current  of  opinion  is  flowing.  In  the 
United  States  the  Directory  was  adopted  in  1729,  and 
recommended  to  be  used  "•  as  near  as  circumstances 
will  allow."  The  Rev.  Charles  W.  Baird,  in  his 
most  instructive  little  book  on  liturgies,  mentions  that 
when  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  revised  its  Constitu- 
tion in  1788  it  renewed  the  adoption  of  the  Directory, 
with  the  instruction  that  it  was  to  be  followed  as  each 
minister  "  shall  think  meet,"  and  threw  out  a  number 
of  forms  of  prayer  —  for  the  invocation  before  sermon, 
before  and  after  baptism,  at  the  Lord's  table,  upon  exer- 
cising discipline,  at  the  solemnization  of  marriage,  in 
the  sick  room,  at  ordinations,  and  nine  prayers  for  the 
family,  which  had  been  drafted  by  its  own  committee. 
He  gives  specimens  of  these  rejected  forms,  which  are 
fine  liturgical  compositions  and  show  that  the  Synod's 
committee  were  men  of  taste  as  well  as  devotion,  and 
were  well  acquainted  with  that  kind  of  literature. 
We  may  speculate  upon  what  effect  the  adoption  of 
their  draft  might  have  had  upon  the  public  worship  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States.     In 

18 


274  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

Canada  the  Directory  is  part  of  the  basis  of  union  in 
1875,  and  it  is  similarly  part  of  the  constitution  of  the 
Irish  Presbyterian  Church.  The  acceptance  is  uni- 
versal, and  so  also  are  the  deviations  from  its  explicit 
directions. 

Thus  the  Reformers  in  all  countries  declared  for 
fixed  forms  combined  with  free  prayer.  These  forms 
both  in  Knox's  book  and  the  Directory  were  supple- 
mented by  the  Psalms,  which  are  an  essential  part  of 
Presbyterian  worship.  As  the  Assembly  of  1645,  in 
their  zeal  for  the  ancient  worship,  resolved  to  retain 
whatever  was  not  otherwise  ordered  in  the  Directory, 
it  would  only  be  right  and  lawful  in  our  present  cir- 
cumstances to  restore  the  use  of  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
the  Ten  Commandments,  and  the  Lord's  Prayer  as 
the  most  concise  expression  of  the  elements  of  the 
Christian  Religion,  —  doctrine,  duty,  and  devotion. 
For  the  daily  service  the  Directory  provided  regular- 
ity of  order,  and  for  special  services  a  prescribed 
form.  By  this  method  the  divines,  though  they  have 
signally  failed,  honestly  endeavored  to  control  the 
love  of  novelty  and  to  check  the  presumption  of  igno- 
rant and  thoughtless  men.  They  sought  to  keep  a 
middle  place  between  the  rigorous  monotony  of  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer  and  that  unbridled  license 
in  worship  which  was  the  delight  of  the  sectaries. 
Indeed,  experience  proves  that  without  sacramental 
forms  the  true  doctrine  of  the  sacraments  will  be 
perpetually  misstated  or  misapprehended,  and  their 
benefits  may  be  lessened  or  lost  to  the  partakers.    To 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  ORDER  275 

adopt  any  Directory  with  the  proviso  that  it  is  to  be 
followed  as  far  as  circumstances  allow,  is  to  defeat 
its  purpose.  When  any  latitude  is  given,  more  will 
be  taken  than  was  given.  For  proof  of  this,  we  have 
merely  to  point  to  the  aspect  of  all  Presbyterian 
churches  at  the  present  time.  A  Directory  compiled 
by  the  most  representative  divines  of  their  age,  assisted 
by  lay-assessors,  revised  by  both  Houses,  and  accepted 
by  the  Scots  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities,  miglit 
well  claim  some  attention ;  but  all  its  provisions  are 
systematically  violated.  Infinite  diversity  prevails, 
and  confusion  extraordinary.  The  Directory  does  in- 
deed require  enlargement ;  but  as  far  as  it  goes,  its 
order  is  simple,  scriptural,  and  free  from  all  ambigu- 
ous and  unauthorized  symbolism ;  but  all  this  diversity 
means  not  only  that  we  differ  from  the  formulary,  but 
that  we  have  a  most  depraved  delight  in  differ- 
ing from  one  another.  It  would  be  too  tedious  to 
enumerate  these  profuse  and  unprofitable  variations. 
Any  one  who  pleases  may  do  this  for  himself  to  some 
extent — but  only  to  some  extent,  for  such  knowledge 
is  too  wonderful  for  any  one  individual.  This  divers- 
ity ranges  through  all  degrees,  from  sheets  distributed 
among  the  pews  for  each  service  to  the  curtailed  wor- 
ship of  the  last  generation.  A  partial  remedy  is  com- 
monly sought  by  a  written  order  being  kept  in  each 
pulpit  for  the  use  of  the  occasional  supply,  —  an 
arrangement  very  trying  to  the  preacher  for  the  day, 
who  has  to  learn  a  new  ritual ;  and  who,  when  he  has 
enough  to  think  about,  is  haunted  with  the  fear  that 


276  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

he  may  be  breaking  through  an  order  which  he  does 
not  know.  This  irregularity  may  be  expected  to 
increase  by  ministers  using  different  manuals  of  their 
own  selection ;  and  all  the  while  the  Church  does 
nothing  but  gather  hymns  and  hymn-tunes  of  all 
kinds,  and  bind  them  for  our  use  in  volumes  larger 
than  our  Bibles ;  and  when  any  attempt  is  made  to 
reform  matters,  some  of  our  most  devoted  ministers 
and  laymen  are  met  with  all  sorts  of  dark  sus- 
picions calculated  to  excite  prejudice  and  prevent 
people  from  arriving  at  a  correct  opinion  on  a  most 
important  subject,  and  with  the  well  known  cry  for 
what  is  called  the  good  old  way.  It  may  be  well  to 
ask.  What  is  that  way  [since  there  are  so  many  ways]  ? 
The  Book  of  Common  Order  is  one  way,  and  the 
Directory  is  another.  A  way  might  be  good  without 
being  old,  and  it  might  be  old  without  being  good. 
Probably  such  complainers,  by  the  "good  old  way" 
mean  their  own  way.  They  tliink  that  it  is  old,  and, 
because  it  is  theirs,  it  must  be  good,  not  only  for 
themselves  but  for  all  others.  But  it  is  not  always 
good  for  people  to  have  their  own  way,  —  especially 
when  it  is  not  very  old  and  may  not  be  very  good, 
and  when  so  many  love  it,  not  so  much  for  its  own 
sake  as  for  the  delightful  sensation  of  forcing  it  upon 
other  people.  But  Church-rulers  should  always  re- 
member that  the  people  have  an  option ;  and  that 
tliey  can  take  their  own  way  too.  When  persecuted 
in  one  city  they  can  flee  to  another.  When  they  do 
not  find,   and   cannot  get,   what  they  want  in   one 


THE  BOOK   OF  COMMON  ORDER  277 

church,  they  can  seek  it  elsewhere.  Under  ordinary 
circumstances,  the  Presbyterian  Church  must  appeal 
very  strongly  to  the  sympathies  of  religious  people 
who  are  reasonable  and  don't  delight  in  extremes. 
It  looks  for  its  polity  where  it  finds  its  doctrine  and 
discipline,  —  nowhere  but  in  Scripture.  In  polity  \t 
stands  between  Prelacy  and  Independency,  and  in 
worship  it  ought  to  stand,  where  it  stood  long  ago,  — 
both  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries, — 
between  Ritualism  and  Radicalism.  It  ought  to  allow 
some  freedom,  but  it  ought  to  be  a  regulated  freedom, 
lest  it  may  fail  in  securing  such  respect  for  its  or- 
dinances as  may  produce  respect  for  itself  and  for 
religion.  Extempore  prayer  being  allowed,  it  might 
be  well  to  interpose  such  questions  as  the  following : 
Can  it  ever  be  a  prayer  not  offered  to  but  hy  an 
ordinary  congregation  ?  Can  tlie  people  supplicate 
before  they  know  or  feel  the  want  ?  Can  such  an  exer- 
cise rise  higher  than  a  meditation  ?  Can  the  people 
ever  be  more  than  hearers  ?  Are  they  not  often 
critics  ?  and,  since  the  exercise  stimulates  curiosity, 
can  they  well  help  this  undevout  attitude  of  mind  ? 
Is  not  the  pleasure  experienced  in  such  an  exercise 
rather  the  delight  of  being  witness  to  a  succession  of 
pious  reflections  and  emotions  in  another  without  any 
participation  of  these  in  tliemselves,  or  any  thought 
of  this  ?  Does  not  the  leader  in  this  exercise  succeed 
best  when  he  forgets  the  presence  of  others,  and, 
becoming  wrapt  in  himself,  pours  forth  his  own  rap- 
turous experience  or  desires  to  God  ?  —  that  is,  forgets 


278  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

or  ignores  the  true  nature  of  an  exercise  in  which  he 
is  supposed  to  be  representative  and  to  express  the 
average  wants  and  feelings  of  human  beings  and  of 
Christians  ?  Does  not  all  this  give  too  much  a  media- 
torial character  to  the  Christian  ministry  ?  Can  such 
prayer  ever  be  the  voice  of  the  Church  ?  Is  there,  or 
can  there  be,  in  this  world  any  exercise  so  difficult 
for  any  mortal  man  ?  Prayer  is  not  a  string  of  Scrip- 
ture passages,  but  the  highest  result  of  faith,  —  the  rich 
flower  and  fruit  of  pious  thought  and  experience,  —  a 
holy  secretion  of  digested  thought  and  life.  These 
are  questions  of  immense  moment.  I  hope  American 
Presbyterians,  with  their  predominating  good  sense, 
are  destined  to  answer  them  and  practically  solve 
them  for  us  all  as  they  have  done  in  many  other 
cases ;  and  I  cannot  but  think  that  a  lecture  course  on 
this  subject,  in  this,  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  pro- 
gressive of  the  American  theological  schools,  is  a 
bright  augury  of  some  change  which  may  be  an  im- 
provement in  our  worship,  by  which  Presbyterians  all 
over  the  world  will  be  gainers. 


IX 

WORSHIP   IN   NON-LITURGICAL 

CHURCHES 

By  the  Rev.  GEORGE  DANA  BOARDMAN,  D.D.,  LLD. 

Honorary  Pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Churchy 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


WORSHIP  IN  NON-LITURGICAL  CHURCHES 

WORSHIP  is  a  human  instinct.  Wherever  trav- 
ellers have  penetrated  (whether  into  the 
polar  regions,  the  heart  of  the  Dark  Continent,  or 
the  most  isolated  isles  of  the  seas),  they  have  never 
found  a  tribe  so  degraded  that  it  did  not  worship 
something,  —  God,  man,  beast,  demon,  thing.  On 
the  other  hand,  there  has  never  been  a  nation  so 
civilized  that  it  did  not  have  its  own  divinity  or 
divinities ;  recall  Baal  of  Assyria,  Osiris  of  Egypt, 
Brahm  of  India,  Ormuzd  of  Persia,  Jupiter  of  Rome, 
Zeus  of  Greece,  Jehovah  of  Canaan.  True,  there 
are  in  our  own  favored  land  a  few  who  profess  them- 
selves to  be  atheists.  Nevertheless,  even  these  gen- 
tlemen have  some  kind  of  a  god  of  their  own ;  if  it  is 
not  the  personal  Jehovah  of  the  Bible,  it  is  some 
impersonal  Absolute  of  Law,  of  Force,  of  Existence, 
of  Something  or  other.  It  is  said  that  even  Voltaire 
prayed  in  an  Alpine  thunderstorm.  No  man  was 
ever  born  an  atheist;  if  he  has  become  one,  it  is  be- 
cause he  has  suicidally  emasculated  his  own  moral 
nature.  This  innate  worship  of  God  is  one  of  the 
few  relics  of  the  Paradise  that  has  been ;  it  is  also 


282  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

one  of  the  many  auguries  of  the  Paradise  that  is  to 
be:  "They  have  no  rest  day  and  night,  saying: 

Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  God,  the  Almighty, 
Who  was  and  who  is  and  who  is  to  come  1 " 

—  Revelation  iv.  8. 

Man  worships  as  instinctively  as  he  breathes. 

And  the  God  of  Revelation  made  provision  for  this 
instinct  in  His  covenant  with  His  ancient  people. 
Listen  to  Jehovah  as  He  spake  unto  Israel  through 
His  servant,  saying : 

"  Let  them  make  me  a  sanctuary;  that  I  may  dwell 
among  them  .  .  .  There  I  will  meet  with  thee,  and  I  will 
commune  with  thee  from  above  the  mercy-seat,  from  be- 
tween the  two  cherubim  which  are  upon  the  ark  of  the 
testimony." — Exodus  xxv.  8,  22. 

Observe  what  Jehovah  declares  to  be  the  precise  pur- 
pose of  His  tabernacle :  He  did  not  appoint  it  as  the 
place  where  His  people  might  gathei  together  to  wor- 
ship Him;  He  appointed  it  as  the  place  where  He 
would  enshrine  Himself  and  meet  His  worshipping 
people.  This  phrase  —  "  tabernacle  of  the  congrega- 
tion" (or  "tent  of  meeting,"  as  it  is  rendered  in  the 
Revised  Version)  — did  not  mean  the  meeting-place 
of  man  and  man  in  worship,  so  much  as  it  meant  the 
meeting-place  of  God  Himself  and  man.  It  is  curious 
to  recall  how  the  Established  Church  of  England  paid 
an  unconscious  tribute  to  "  dissenters "  by  styling 
their  places  of  worship  "  meeting-houses  "  or  "  con- 


WORSHIP  IN  NON-LITURGICAL   CHURCHES     283 

venticles. "  No,  Jehovah  appointed  His  ancient  tab- 
ernacle to  serve  as  the  shrine  for  Himself;  the  con- 
gress of  Godhead  and  manhead ;  the  convention  of  the 
Infinite  and  the  finite:  "There  I  will  meet  with 
them,  and  commune  with  them  from  above  the  mercy- 
seat,  from  between  the  two  cherubim. "  Accordingly, 
when  the  tabernacle  was  dedicated,  the  Shechinah, 
or  dazzling  symbol  of  Jehovah's  presence,  which  had 
been  hovering  for  many  weeks  over  Sinai,  majesti- 
cally swept  downward  into  the  plain  and  covered  the 
tent  of  meeting,  and  the  glory  of  Jehovah  filled  the 
tabernacle. 

But  Jehovah  not  only  appointed  the  tabernacle  for 
His  own  enshrinement  and  communion  with  Israel ; 
He  also  appointed  an  elaborate  system  of  worship  by 
which  Israel  could  meet  Him  in  humble  adoration, 
thanksgiving,  confession,  supplication,  consecration, 
communion.  This  was  the  meaning  of  the  priesthood 
with  its  minute  details  of  vestments,  ablutions,  sac- 
rifices, oblations,  festivals,  Levitical  ritual,  and  the 
like,  —  all  this  being  scrupulously  arranged  according 
to  a  divinely  shown  pattern.  Thus  this  whole  elab- 
orate system  of  ancient  worship  was  a  divinely  pre- 
scribed liturg3\  True,  it  appealed  to  the  eye  rather 
than  to  the  ear,  being,  so  to  speak,  a  pictorial  ser- 
vice or  dramatic  liturgy.  Nevertheless,  the  chief 
point  is  this,  —  for  fifteen  hundred  years  Jehovah's 
ancient  chosen  people  worshipped  according  to  a 
divinely  appointed  liturgy. 

But  that  ancient  sanctuary,  with  all  its  elaborate 


284  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

ritual,   has   been  abolished  in  Christ.     Recall  the 
story  of  Jesus  at  Jacob's  Well :  — 

''  The  woman  saith  unto  him,  Sir,  I  perceive  that  thou 
art  a  prophet.  Our  fathers  worshipped  in  this  mountain 
[pointing  to  Gerizim  towering  hard  by]  ;  and  ye  say,  that 
in  Jerusalem  is  the  place  where  men  ought  to  worship. 
Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Woman,  believe  me,  the  hour 
Cometh,  when  neither  in  this  mountain,  nor  in  Jerusalem, 
shall  ye  worship  the  Father.  Ye  worship  that  which  ye 
know  not :  we  worship  that  which  we  know :  for  salva- 
tion is  from  the  Jews.  But  the  hour  cometh,  and  now  is, 
when  the  true  worshippers  shall  worship  the  Father  in 
spirit  and  truth :  for  such  doth  the  Father  seek  to  be  His 
worshippers.  God  is  a  Spirit:  and  they  that  worship  Him 
must  worship  in  spirit  and  truth."  —  John  iv.  19-24. 

I  know  not  that  even  the  Son  of  God  ever  made  a 
more  majestic  annunciation.  This  proclamation  by 
Jacob's  Well  forms  a  momentous  epoch  in  the  moral 
history  of  mankind;  it  marks  a  colossal  stride  in  the 
unfolding  of  the  ideal  of  worship.  It  is  as  though 
the  divine  prophet  had  said,  — 

* '  Henceforth  worship  is  not  to  be  a  thing  of  place  and 
time  and  rite.  Believe  me,  woman,  the  hour  is  coming 
when  men  will  neither  on  your  Gerizim  nor  on  our  Moriah 
worship  the  Father.  You  Samaritans  are  worshipping 
blindly.  What  though  you  accept  the  five  books  of 
Moses  ?  You  do  not  catch  their  meaning.  But  we  Jews 
know  what  we  worship.  We  understand  the  meaning  of 
paschal  lamb;  day  of  atonement;  holy  of  holies  ;  mercy- 


WORSHIP  IN  NON-LITURGICAL   CHURCHES    285 

seat.  We  know  that  tlie  promised  Messiali  is  to  come  of 
Jewish  stock.  As  then  between  Moriah  and  Gerizim, 
Moriah  must  take  precedence.  Yet  our  system  of  wor- 
ship, although  divinely  ordained,  is  only  provisional. 
The  hour  has  already  come  in  which  all  who  truly  realize 
the  ideal  of  worship  will  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and 
truth,  —  in  spirit  as  opposed  to  form  ;  in  truth  as  opposed 
to  type.  For  such  kind  of  worshippers  does  the  Father  of 
spirits  seek.  Being  Himself  of  a  spiritual  nature,  He 
yearns  toward  what  in  us  is  spiritual.  All  true  worship 
is  but  response  to  our  Father's  yearning." 

What  sublime  teaching  for  a  Galilean  carpenter! 

Alas!  how  slowly  the  Church  has  been  learning 
this  sublime  lesson  of  the  spirituality  of  Christian 
worship !  To  this  day  the  confessors  of  the  Prophet 
of  Jacob's  Well  are  debating  about  Gerizim  and 
Moriah,  —  about  little  matters  of  vestments,  canons, 
re-ordination,  rebaptism,  terms  of  communion,  and 
the  like.  One  might  almost  fancy  that  the  story  of 
Jacob's  Well  were  altogther  a  myth,  and  that  the 
Divine  Man  had  never  been  born.  No,  worship  is  no 
longer  a  question  of  form,  — henceforth  worship  is  a 
question  of  spirit;  no  longer  a  matter  of  Jewish 
distinctions  of  meat  and  drink,  —henceforth  a  matter 
of  righteousness  and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"Are  we  then  (I  hear  you  asking)  to  dispense  with 
all  forms  of  worship?  Must  we  understand  our 
Master  as  teaching  that  there  is  no  need  of  church- 
organizations,  and  sacraments,  and  set  seasons  of 
worship  ? " 


286  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

Certainly  not.  We  need  all  these,  and  such  as 
these,  as  helps  to  worship,  and  therefore  we  must  have 
them.  For  the  body  is  the  spirit's  home,  vehicle, 
organ,  inlet,  outlet.  Accordingly,  body  and  spirit 
act  and  react  on  each  other.  No  matter  how  exalted 
our  ideal  of  a  Christian  life  may  be,  no  matter  how 
exalted  our  Christian  character  actually  is,  a  quite 
certain  thing  is  this,  — the  possibility  of  a  genuine 
spiritual  worship  at  any  given  time  does  depend 
greatly  on  our  environment:  for  example,  on  the 
state  of  our  bodily  health;  the  comfortableness  of 
the  temperature ;  the  thoroughness  of  the  ventilation ; 
the  freedom  from  noise  and  distraction;  the  manner 
of  the  preacher;  the  religiousness  of  the  music;  and 
the  like.  Even  the  character  of  the  architecture 
affects  the  ease  of  spiritual  worship,  —  many  persons 
being  really  aided  in  their  devotions  by 

"  The  high  embowed  roof, 
With  antick  pillars  massy  proof, 
And  storied  windows  richly  dight, 
Casting  a  dim  religious  light." 

—  21  Penseroso. 

As  a  simple  matter  of  fact,  we  cannot,  even  if  we 
would,  at  least  while  we  remain  in  this  world,  get  rid 
of  our  bodies ;  we  must  take  them  with  us  whenever 
we  go  to  church,  and  be  more  or  less  affected  by 
them  during  our  worship.  Here  in  fact  is  one  of  the 
reasons  of  the  incarnation  or  enfleshment  of  Deity. 
Just  because  we  are  perforce  more  or  less  swayed  by 


WORSHIP  IN  NON-LITURGICAL   CHURCHES    287 

our  bodily  organisms,  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in 
Jesus  Christ  His  Son  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
should  dwell  bodily,  body-wise.  The  incarnate 
career  of  the  Son  of  God  is  Deity  in  sensible  outflow 
and  manifestation.  The  visible  Jesus,  because 
moving  in  the  realm  of  our  senses,  helps  us  to  see  the 
invisible  Father.  Herein  also  lies  the  meaning  of 
the  ordinances  of  baptism  and  communion.  These 
are  outward  acts,  palpable  to  the  senses ;  and  there- 
fore have  been  appointed  to  help  us,  body-invested 
as  we  are,  to  grasp  the  spiritual  truths  which  they 
visibly  symbolize.  Forms  of  worship  then  are  neces- 
sary. But  they  are  necessary  merely  as  means ;  they 
are  not  themselves  ends.  The  great  thing  then  is 
to  use  forms  intelligently,  conceiving  them  as  being 
only  aids  to  worship,  mere  ladders  by  which  the  soul 
may  climb  to  her  eternal  habitation.  For  God  is 
spirit;  and  therefore  they  that  worship  Him  must 
worship  in  spirit  and  truth.  Nevertheless,  we  are 
still  in  the  body ;  and  therefore  even  spiritual  wor- 
ship must  take  on  some  kind  of  form  or  liturgy. 
Beware  then  of  that  pantheistic  philosophy  which, 
to  use  the  words  of  one  of  its  most  distinguished 
champions,  teaches  that 

*' Religion  demands  no  particular  actions,  forms,  or 
modes  of  thought ;  man's  plowing  is  as  holy  as  his  pray- 
ing, his  daily  bread  as  the  smoke  of  his  sacrifice,  his  home 
as  sacred  as  his  temple ;  his  week-day  and  his  Sabbath 
are  alike  God's  day." 


288  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

On  the  other  hand,  Horace  Bushnell  never  said  a 
more  sensible  thing  than  when  in  his  sermon  entitled 
"  Routine  Observance  Indispensable "  he  declares 
that 

"  We  need  to  keep  fixed  times,  or  appointed  rounds  of 
observance,  as  truly  as  to  be  in  holy  impulse  ;  to  have 
prescribed  periods  in  duty  as  truly  as  to  have  a  spirit  of 
duty;  to  be  in  the  drill  of  observance,  as  well  as  in  the 
liberty  of  faith."  —  JSermons  on  Living  Subjects^  xvi. 

Yes,  I  believe  in  Sabbaths  and  sanctuaries  and 
hymns  and  prayers  and  sacraments.  Were  it  not 
for  these,  and  such  as  these,  I  honestly  believe  that 
true  personal  godliness  would  soon  perish  from  the 
face  of  the  earth.  The  consecrated  temple,  the  gath- 
ered multitude,  the  devout  posture,  the  humble  invo- 
cation, the  sacred  melody,  the  holy  reading,  the 
reverent  adoration,  the  hearty  thanksgiving,  the  lowly 
confession,  the  fervent  supplication,  the  generous 
intercession,  the  ardent  aspiration,  the  glowing  con- 
secration, the  grateful  offering,  the  uplifting  sermon, 
the  solemn  baptism,  the  peaceful  communion,  the 
gracious  benediction,  — these,  and  such  as  these,  are 
the  stately  buttresses  and  graceful  shafts  on  which 
the  Master  of  assemblies  rests  the  temple  of  His 
truth,  and  from  which  His  righteousness  goes  forth 
as  brightness,  and  His  salvation  as  a  lamp  that  burns. 
It  is  as  true  to-day  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  the 
psalmist  Asaph,  God's  way  is  in  the  sanctuary. 

And    as   a  matter    of    fact,    even    non-liturgical 


WORSHIP  IN  NON-LITURGICAL   CHURCHES     289 

churches  do  have  some  form  of  liturgical   service. 
Indeed,  this  whole  question  of  liturgy  is  largely  a 
question  of  degree  rather  than  of  nature ;  ranging  all 
the  way  from  the  simplicity  of  the  Quaker  mee'ting 
to  the  elaborateness  of  the  Roman  ritual.     The  com- 
parative bareness  of  the  service  in  our  non-liturgical 
churches  is  not  so  much  a  denial  of  the  principle  of 
a   liturgy   as   it  is   a  recoil   against   the   excessive 
liturgy  of  ritualism.     In  fact,  do  not  we  ourselves, 
non-liturgical  ministers  though  we  are,  have  in  our 
pulpits  a  printed  "  Order  of  Service. "  —  indeed,  a  little 
Breviary  of  our  own,  —  varying,  it  is  true,  in  diiferent 
pulpits,  yet  serving  as  a  sort  of  chart  for  such  sons 
of  Levi  as  may  honor  us  with  their  friendly  exchange, 
and  particularly  for  those  ecclesiastical  peripatetics 
who  are  ever  walking  through  dry  places,  seeking 
rest,  and  find  none?     No,  the  question  is  not  so  much 
a  question  of  substance  as  it  is  a  question  of  degree. 
We   all  do  have   some   kind  of   liturgy.     And  the 
problem   is,  —  How  much  shall  we   have?     Where 
shall  we  stop? 

What  provision  liturgical  churches  have  made 
for  worship  in  their  respective  communions  has 
already  been  eloquently  set  forth  by  my  honored 
predecessors  in  this  course.  "Worship  in  Non- 
Liturgical  Churches  "  is  the  topic  your  courtesy  has 
assigned  me.  And  in  discussing  this  topic,  I  must 
remember  that  in  the  audience  which  I  have  the  honor 
of  addressing  there  are  many  students  for  the  Chris- 
tian ministry,  the  larger  part  of  whom  are  doubtless 

19 


290  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

looking  forward  to  service  in  non-liturgical  churches. 
Accordingly,  I  presume,  it  is  expected  of  me  that  I 
should  say  something  about  what  I  conceive  to  be  a 
proper  manner  of  conducting  worship  in  churches 
which  have  no  prescribed  liturgy.  Not  that  I  am  so 
conceited  or  stupid  as  to  presume  to  prescribe  rigid 
rules  or  modes  of  worship.  All  that  I  may  presume 
to  undertake  is  to  offer  some  hints  suggested  by  a 
somewhat  long  and  varied  observation  and  experience. 
Let  me  then,  young  brothers,  say  to  you  first  of  all 
that  your  responsibility  in  this  matter  will  be  very 
serious.  For  devotions,  or  acts  of  homage,  consti- 
tute the  chief  part  of  worship.  Beware,  then,  of 
falling  into  the  irreverent  habit  of  regarding  the 
devotional  services  as  merely  subsidiary,  degrading 
them  into  what  are  profanely  styled  "preliminary 
services,  mere  accessories,"  and  the  like.  In  fact, 
the  devotional  part  of  public  worship  is  even  more 
important  than  the  preaching  part;  for  the  preaching 
part  is  to  men,  but  the  devotional  part  is  to  God. 
Do  not  then  let  the  devotional  part  drift.  Arrange 
it  as  orderly  and  progressively  as  you  would  arrange 
the  movements  of  your  sermon.  Poet  and  scientist 
alike  sing  "Order  is  Heaven's  first  law."  Listen 
to  Ulysses  as  he  stands  before  Agamemnon's  tent: 

"  The  heavens  themselves,  the  planets,  and  this  centre 
Observe  degree,  priority,  and  place, 
Insisture,  course,  proportion,  season,  form, 
Office,  and  custom,  in  all  line  of  order." 

—  Troilus  and  Cressida. 


WORSHIP  IN  NON-LITURGICAL   CHURCHES     291 

It  is  particularly  true  in  the  sphere  of  public  wor- 
ship. Indeed,  it  was  public  worship  which  St. 
Paul  had  in  mind  when  he  wrote  to  the  Corinthian 
Church,  — 

"  Let  all  things  be  done  decently  and  in  order"  (de- 
corously and  orderly).  —  1  Corinthians  xiv.  30. 

If  ever  we  are  to  deport  ourselves  with  reverent 
decorum,  it  is  when  we  stand  in  the  presence  of  the 
King  of  kings  in  His  own  appointed  audience-court. 

*'  Keep  thy  foot  when  thou  goest  to  the  house  of  God ; 
be  not  rash  with  thy  mouth,  and  let  not  thine  heart  be 
hasty  to  utter  anything  before  God  ;  for  God  is  in  heaven, 
and  thou  upon  earth :  therefore  let  thy  words  be  few." 

—  Ecclesiastes  v.  1,2. 

How  then  shall  we  as  a  congregation  of  worshippers 
express  our  worship?  Unitedly,  as  one  congrega- 
tion ;  or  isolatedly,  as  a  congregation  of  one?  Before 
undertaking  to  answer  this  question,  permit  me  to 
say  that  I  have  the  painful  conviction  that  the  wor- 
shippers in  our  non-liturgical  churches  are  allowed 
too  small  a  part  in  the  public  worship  of  Almighty 
God.  With  the  exception  of  the  responsive  Bible 
readings  now  prevailing  in  some  of  our  churches, 
and  also  of  the  singing  (alas,  even  this  privilege  is 
in  many  instances  artistically  denied  us),  everything 
is  done  by  a  vicarious  worshipper.  No  voice  but  the 
preacher's  is  heard  in  adoration,  thanksgiving,  con- 
fession, supplication,  intercession,  aspiration,  com- 


292  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

muni  on.  So  far  as  the  vocal  act  of  homage  goes,  the 
preacher  alone  worships.  Should  some  angelic 
visitor  enter  one  of  our  sanctuaries  and  observe  the 
silence  of  the  congregation,  I  am  not  sure  but  that 
he  would  imagine  that  some  calamity  like  that  which 
befell  ancient  Zacharias  in  the  temple  had  befallen 
Christ's  churchly  priesthood  to-day,  and  he  would 
wonderingly  ask  what  sin  this  people  had  committed 
that  they  should  thus  be  struck  dumb.  Enter  any 
Roman  Catholic  sanctuary  while  the  service  is  going 
on.  The  priest  is  everything;  the  laity  is  nothing. 
From  beginning  to  ending,  excepting  the  organist 
and  choir,  it  is  the  priest  who  carries  on  the  entire 
worship;  the  congregation  remaining  as  voiceless  as 
an  asylum  of  mutes  or  a  graveyard  of  the  dead. 
Enter  one  of  our  non-liturgical  churches,  and  the 
same  scene  in  its  essential  features  is  re-enacted. 
From  beginning  to  ending,  with  the  exception  of  the 
singing,  and  it  may  be  of  the  responsive  reading,  it 
is  the  minister  who  is  everything ;  the  congregation 
is  nothing.  It  is  the  minister  who  does  the  preach- 
ing; and  this  of  course  is  right.  But  preaching  is 
not,  strictly  speaking,  a  part  of  worship.  Preaching 
means  exposition,  instruction,  warning,  entreaty, 
comforting,  building  up  of  the  body  of  Christ.  As 
such,  and  in  its  own  place,  preaching  is  of  supreme 
importance,  and  indeed  indispensable.  But  preach- 
ing in  itself  is  not  a  part  of  worship.  The  address- 
ing men  on  the  subject  of  their  duties  and  privileges 
is  not  worship;  except  in  the  general  sense  that  all 


WORSHIP  IN  NON-LITURGICAL  CHURCHES     293 

life,   alike  on  Sunday  and  on  week-days,   in  closet 
and  market,  ought  to  be  a  ceaseless  liturgy.     Public 
worship  means  the  direct  adoration  of  Almighty  God 
and  the  direct  supplication  of  His  favor.     It  means 
the  personal  soaring  of  each  individual  worshipper 
toward  his  heavenly  Father.     Alas!  this  individual 
privilege  of   each   member  of   the  congregation  we 
allow  the  minister  to  appropriate  to  himself.     He 
alone  lifts  the  veil,  and  enters  the  holy  of  holies, 
and  communes  before  the  mercy-seat;  while  the  con- 
gregation stands  mute  in  the  outer  court.     The  New 
Testament  doctrine  of  the  rent  veil  and  the  priest- 
hood of  all  Christians  gives  way  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment doctrine  of  a  sacerdotal   order;   or,   what   is 
worse,  to  the  Roman  heresy  of  a  priestly  caste  and  a 
priestly  worship.     Even  the  pulpit  has  been  removed 
from  the  side  to  the  centre ;  so  that  the  preacher  is 
perpetually  in  the  foreground,  while  the  worship  of 
Almighty  God  is  consigned  to  a  comparatively  subor- 
dinate  niche.     How  painfully  true  this  is  may  be 
seen  in  the  fact  that  while  it  is  not  considered  rude 
to  enter  the   sanctuary  during  the  earlier  parts  of 
the  service,  such  as  the  singing  or  the  Bible  reading, 
—  that  is  to  say,  be  it  observed,  during  that  part  of 
the  service  which  is  distinctly  liturgical  or  worship- 
ful, —  it   is   considered  rude  to  come  in  or  go  out 
while  the  minister  is  preaching,  as  though,  forsooth, 
the   main  thing  in  worship  were  ignorant,   feeble, 
sinful  man,  instead  of  Jehovah  of  hosts.     What  we 
need  is  a  return  to  the  ancient  ways,  even  the  good 


294  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

old  paths  of  our  fathers,  falling  in  line  with  the 
venerable  and  saintly  past,  worshipping  liturgicall}^, 
as  did  the  church  of  Knox  and  Luther,  Anselm  and 
Chrysostom,  Peter  and  Isaiah,  David  and  Moses. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  must  guard  ourselves  against 
falling  into  mere  routine  worship.  Remember  what 
our  Master  Himself  has  said  in  this  very  matter  of 
worship :  — 

"  In  praying  use  not  vain  repetitions,  as  the  Gentiles 
do  :  for  they  think  that  they  shall  be  heard  for  their  much 
speaking:  be  not  therefore  like  unto  them  :  for  your 
Father  knoweth  what  things  ye  have  need  of  before  ye 
ask  Him." — Matthew  vi.  7,  8. 

Does  our  Lord  then  mean  to  forbid  all  repetitions 
of  the  same  words?  Certainly  not.  He  Himself  bids 
repetition:  "When  ye  pray,  say";  then  follows  the 
Lord's  Prayer  according  to  the  Evangelist  Luke; 
moreover.  He  Himself  thrice  repeated  the  same 
prayer  in  Gethsemane.  What,  then,  does  our  Lord 
forbid?  Evidently  the  senseless  repetition  of  prayers 
for  repetition's  own  sake ;  substituting  quantity  for 
quality;  vaporizing  verbal  requests  into  monotonous 
iterations  and  reiterations.  And  this  is  a  character- 
istically heathen  habit.  Thus  prayed  BaaPs  prophets 
on  Carmel  in  Elijah's  time,  calling  on  the  name  of 
their  god  from  morning  even  until  noon,  saying: 
"  0  Baal,  hear  us ! "  Thus  pray  Buddhist  monks  to- 
day, ceaselessly  repeating  for  whole  days  the  sacred 
syllable,  "  Um !  Um !  Um ! "     But  is  this  much  worse 


WORSHIP  IN  NON-LITURGICAL   CHURCHES     295 

than  the  rosary  of  our  Roman  Catholic  friends, 
which  requires  that  each  of  its  fifteen  decades  shall 
begin  with  a  Paternoster,  be  continued  with  ten  Ave 
Marias,  and  end  with  a  Gloria  Patri?  Is  it  much 
worse  than  the  ritual  of  our  liturgical  friends,  which 
requires  that  on  the  recurrence  of  a  certain  day  in 
each  succeeding  year  precisely  the  same  prayer  shall 
be  recited?  Nay,  more,  is  this  Gentile  custom  of 
using  vain  repetitions  much  worse  than  the  stereo- 
typed prayers  of  not  a  few  of  us  non-liturgists,  — 
prayers  in  which  the  round  of  particulars  and  the 
very  phraseology  may  be  predicted  with  almost  as 
much  certainty  as  the  eclipses  or  the  tides?  Ah,  if 
we  cannot  do  better  than  this,  —  if  we  must  use  vain 
repetitions  as  the  heathen  do,  —  it  would  pay  for  us 
to  buy  one  of  the  devotional  machines  of  the  Thibetan 
Lamaists,  and,  cranking  the  wheel,  set  our  prayers 
a-going. 

And  now,  to  revert  specifically  to  the  question  in 
hand,  how  shall  we  conduct  worship  in  non-liturgical 
churches?  Of  course  I  cannot  go  into  minute  par- 
ticulars, —  questions,  for  example,  of  order  of  ser- 
vice, selections  for  Bible  reading,  holy  days,  saints' 
days,  posture,  costume,  and  the  like.  I  must  con- 
tent myself  with  general  suggestions.  The  chief 
elements  of  public  worship  are  two,  —  Praise  and 
Prayer.     And   just  here  the   Model  Prayer^  is  our 

1  Observe,  I  do  not  say,  "  the  Lord's  Prayer ; "  for,  although  the 
Lord  dictated  it,  and  altliougli  it  is  familiarly  and  dearly  known  to  us 
as  "  the  Lord's  Prayer,"  yet  it  is  not  His  prayer  in  the  sense  that  lie 


296  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

divine  pattern.     Observe  how  the  first  half,  — 

"  Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven, 
Hallowed  be  Thy  name  : 
Thy  kingdom  come : 
Thy  will  be  done 
As  in  heaven,  so  on  earth,"  — 

consists  in  praise  to  God.  Observe  how  the  second 
half,  — 

"  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread ; 
And  forgive  us  our  debts, 
As  we  also  have  forgiven  our  debtors  ; 
And  bring  us  not  into  temptation, 
But  deliver  us  from  the  evil  one,"  — 

consists  in  prayer  for  men.  And  observe  particu- 
larly that  the  praise  comes  before  the  prayer,  —  the 
angels  of  our  worship  ascending  before  descending 
upon  the  ladder  of  the  Son  of  man.  This  divinely 
given  order  of  thought  in  praise  and  prayer  deserves 

Himself  used  it.  For  although  entering  sympathetically  into  human 
woe  and  guilt,  —  Himself  taking  our  infirmities  and  bearing  our  sick- 
nesses, —  yet  He  was  evermore  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  separate  from 
sinners.  How,  then,  could  He,  who  did  no  sin,  and  in  whose  mouth 
was  found  no  guile,  ever  pray  for  Himself  as  though  He  were  a  fellow- 
sinner  with  us,  saying,  "Forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  forgive  our 
debtors  ?  "  No ;  it  is  the  seventeenth  chapter  of  St.  John's  Gospel,  — 
that  wonderful,  sublime,  blessed  chapter  which  records  the  Lord's  own 
prayer,  first,  for  Himself  (verses  1-5);  secondly,  for  His  Apostles 
(verses  6-19) ;  and,  thirdly,  for  His  Church  Universal  (verses  20-26). 
It  is  this  seventeenth  chapter  of  St.  John  which  is  in  the  strictest  sense 
the  Lord's  Prayer ;  whereas  the  prayer  which  our  Lord  dictated  to  His 
disciples  for  their  use,  —  "  After  this  manner  pray  ye  " ;  "  When  ye 
pray,  say,"  —  this  is  the  Church's,  or  the  Model  Prayer. 


WORSHIP  IN  NON-LITURGICAL   CHURCHES     297 

profound  pondering.  In  studying  it,  let  us  rever- 
ently follow  the  same  divine  order. 

And  first,  what  does  praise  mean?  To  answer  in 
general  outline,  praise  means  adoration,  thanks- 
giving, aspiration,  consecration,  offering,  com- 
munion, and  the  like.  Now  the  question  is,  — How 
shall  we  as  a  congregation  of  worshippers  express 
our  praise,  our  service  of  adorations,  thanskgivings, 
aspirations?  Let  an  inspired  apostle  answer  our 
question :  — 

*' Speaking  one  to  another  in  psalms  and  hymns  and 
spiritual  songs,  singing  and  making  melody  with  your 
heart  to  the  Lord  "  (speaking  one  to  another  responsively, 
in  psalms  and  hymns  and  odes  pneumatic ;  chanting  and 
psalming  with  your  hearts  to  the  Lord).  —  Ei^liesians 
V.  19. 

No  wonder  that  Pliny,  writing  to  his  master  Trajan 
about  the  close  of  the  first  century,  describes  the 
early  Church  as  accustomed  to  assemble  before  day- 
light, and  sing  alternately  one  to  another,  praising 
Christ  as  God  :  — 

"Ante  lucem  convenire,  carmenque  Christo  quasi  Deo 
dicere  secum  invicem."  —  Epist.  x.  97. 

The  exile  of  Patmos  describes  the  worship  in  heaven 
itself  as  liturgical  (see  Rev.  iv.  8-11;  v.  9-14;  vii. 
9-12;  XV.  3,  4;  etc.). 

For  all  deep  feeling,  especially  the  feeling  of 
praise,  is  essentially  poetical,  instinctively  yearning 


298  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

for  the  rhythmical  accompaniment  of  sound.  In  fact, 
the  truest  devotion  is  also  the  highest  poetry.  It 
has  been  so  in  all  lands  and  in  all  ages.  Recall  the 
paeans  of  Miriam,  Deborah,  Hannah,  David,  Isaiah, 
Mary,  Zacharias,  Simeon ;  even  the  great  Hallel,  or 
Hallelujah,  of  our  Lord's  final  Passover.  The  Del- 
phian Pythoness  herself  was  wont  to  breathe  forth  her 
oracle  in  hexameter.  Even  the  Quakers,  although 
they  disallow  music,  yet  preach  intoningly,  in  a  sing- 
song way.  In  brief,  music  is  the  natural  outlet  of 
devotion.  What  does  not  the  Church  owe  in  way  of 
worship  to  the  hymns  of  Greek  Anatolius,  Latin 
Ambrose,  French  Bernard,  Italian  Aquinas,  Ger- 
man Luther,  English  Watts,  American  Palmer?  Ay, 
here  is  the  real  concord  of  the  ages ;  here  is  the  true 
ecumenical.  I  do  thank  God  that  the  Christian 
hymns,  of  whatever  communion,  are  the  common 
property  of  Christ's  Church  of  all  communions. 
Here  at  least  the  non-liturgical  churches  are  them- 
selves liturgical ;  for  they  join  in  praising  God  con- 
gregationally  and  synchronously  by  using  together 
the  same  hymnal  formulas. 

But  we  are  not  only  to  praise  God  by  speaking  to 
one  another  in  hymns  and  spiritual  songs;  we  are 
also  to  praise  Him  in  Psalms,  chanting  and  psalming 
with  our  hearts  to  the  Lord.  In  fact,  the  Psalter  of 
the  Bible  ever  has  been,  and  I  trust  ever  will  be,  the 
chief  praise -book  of  the  Church.  Indeed,  many  of 
the  Psalms  were  composed  for  a  distinctively  litur- 
gical purpose;   for  example,  Psalms  xcii.-c,     Ac- 


WORSHIP  IN  NON-LITURGICAL   CHURCHES      299 

cordingly  they  have  an  antiphonal  or  responsive 
structure;  that  is,  the  lines  or  strophes  were  to  be 
chanted  alternately,  for  example,  by  sections  of  the 
choir  responsively  to  each  other,  or  by  Levite  and 
congregation.  For  while  English  rhythm  is  the 
rhythm  of  metre,  and  English  rhyme  is  the  rhyme  of 
sound,  Hebrew  rhythm  was  the  rhythm  of  statement, 
and  Hebrew  rhyme  was  the  rhyme  of  sentiment ;  or, 
as  Ewald  beautifully  expresses  it,  "the  rapid  stroke 
as  of  alternate  wings, "  "  the  heaving  and  sinking  as 
of  the  troubled  heart."  Viewed  in  this  light, 
Hebrew  poetry  is  as  much  nobler  than  modern  as 
rhyme  of  thought  is  nobler  than  rhyme  of  sound. 
When  will  our  colleges  teach  Job  and  David  and 
Isaiah  as  well  as  Homer  and  Virgil  and  Dante? 
Now  this  musical  burst  of  soul  and  its  responsive 
echo  —  this  deep  calling  unto  deep  —  is  quite  lost  in 
our  Authorized  Version,  and  also  in  the  Psalter  of 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer ;  for  in  these  versions 
the  parallelism  of  sense-rhythm  or  thought-rhyme  is 
ruptured  into  verses  so-called,  which,  however,  are  not 
so  much  verses  as  fractures.  I  confess  that  the  re- 
sponsive readings  of  Scripture,  whether  in  the  Psalter 
of  liturgical  churches  or  in  the  Bible  selections  of 
some  of  our  non-liturgical,  have  never  impressed 
me  deeply;  for  they  are  painfully  mechanical,  sug- 
gesting neither  the  thought -rhythm  of  Hebrew  paral- 
lelism nor  the  sound-rhyme  of  modern  hymnals.  One 
of  the  great  boons  which  the  revisers  of  our  English 
Bible   have   conferred   on  us   is  their  printing  the 


300  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

Psalms  (as  also  they  ought  to  have  printed  many  of 
the  prophecies)  in  lines  instead  of  "  verses "  so- 
called  ;  thus  helping  to  preserve  the  parallelism  so 
exquisitely  characteristic  of  Hebrew  poetry. 

And  herein,  as  it  seems  to  me,  lies  the  superiority 
of  chanting.  For  while  in  certain  respects  it  is 
said  to  be  more  difficult  than  singing,  yet  in  other 
respects  it  is  the  simplest  form  of  religious  music, 
and  therefore  it  offers  least  temptation  to  pride  of 
artistic  execution.  Moreover,  chanting  is  intelli- 
gible; and  this  is  certainly  an  advantage.  For, 
according  to  a  master  of  spiritual  music,  — 

*'  Even  things  without  life,  giving  a  voice,  whether  pipe 
or  harp,  if  they  give  not  a  distinction  in  the  sounds,  how 
shall  it  be  known  what  is  piped  or  harped  ?  For  if  the 
trumpet  give  an  uncertain  voice,  who  shall  prepare  him- 
self for  war?  So  also  ye,  unless  ye  utter  by  the  tongue 
speech  easy  to  be  understood,  how  shall  it  be  known  what 
is  spoken?  for  ye  will  be  speaking  into  the  air.'' 

—  1  Corinthians  xiv.  7-9. 

Once  more,  chanting  is  probably  the  most  ancient 
form  of  temple  music.  To  the  reflective  worshipper 
few  things  are  more  inspiring  than  the  sense  of  join- 
ing in  strains  centuries  old.  What  can  awaken  a 
sublimer  feeling  of  worship  than  to  join  in  chanting, 
for  instance,  the  Benedicite,  the  Magnificat^  the  Bene- 
dictus,  the  Gloria  in  Uxcelsis,  the  JVuno  Bimittis, 
the  Gloria  Patri,  the  Tersanctus,  the  Te  Deum  Lau- 
damns?    What  could  be  auguster  than  for  a  con- 


WORSHIP  IN  NON-LITURGICAL   CHURCHES    301 

gregation  to  rise  at  the  beginning  of  worship,  and 
join  in  chanting  antiphonally  the  Venite^  exultemus 
Domino  ? 

"  O  come,  let  us  sing  unto  Jehovah  ; 
Let  us  make  a  joyful  noise  to  the  rock  of  our  salvation. 
Let  us  come  before  His  presence  with  thanksgiving, 
Let  us  make  a  joyful  noise  unto  Him  with  psalms. 
For  Jehovah  is  a  great  God, 
And  a  great  King  above  all  gods. 
In  His  hand  are  the  deep  places  of  the  earth ; 
The  heights  of  the  mountains  are  His  also 
The  sea  is  His,  and  He  made  it ; 
And  His  hands  formed  the  dry  land. 
O  come,  let  us  vrorship  and  bow  down  5 
Let  us  kneel  before  Jehovah  our  Maker  ; 
For  He  is  our  God, 

And  we  are  the  people  of  His  pasture,  and  the  sheep  of  His 
hand."  — Psalm  xcv.  1-7. 

Now  when  this  responsive  chanting  or  antiphonal 
recitative  of  the  Hebrew  parallelism  shall  become 
more  familiar  in  our  worship,  and  take  the  place 
due  it  in  the  musical  part  of  our  service,  then  shall 
the  Hebrew  Psalter  become  still  more  than  ever  the 
great  praise-book  of  the  Church.  True,  to  chant 
well  is  a  difficult  art;  but  it  can  be  learned.  In 
my  judgment,  music  composers  could  hardly  do  a 
more  sacred  thing  than  to  set  the  liturgical  psalms 
to  simple  and  fitting  chants ;  nor  could  music  teach- 
ers do  a  richer  service  to  the  Church  than  to  teach 
the  children  of  our  congregations  (not  merely  a  "  boys' 
choir ")  how  to  chant  the  psalms ;  thus  singing  in 


302  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

the  temple  Hosannas  to  the  Son  of  David,  and  out 
of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings  perfecting 
praise.  Let  our  children  of  this  generation  be  thus 
trained  to  chant  the  melodies  of  the  Psalter;  then 
the  worshippers  of  the  next  generation  will  indeed 
be,  like  the  sons  of  Korah  in  the  ancient  temple, 
singers  to  the  Chief  Musician. 

But  prayer,  not  less  than  praise,  is  a  part  of  wor- 
ship. Indeed,  to  praise  without  praying  is  to  wor- 
ship as  worshipped  Cain  and  the  Pharisee.  And 
now  our  question  is,  —  How  shall  we  as  a  congrega- 
tion of  worshippers  express  our  prayers,  our  service 
of  confessions,  supplications,  intercessions,  aspira- 
tions? Shall  each  worshipper  pray  silently,  follow- 
ing the  minister  as  he  prays  for  the  congregation? 
Or  shall  the  minister  and  the  congregation  pray 
together,  joining  their  voices  in  familiar  and  appro- 
priate formulas?  In  brief,  shall  the  congregation 
pray  directly;  or  shall  it  pray  by  proxy?  Both 
directly  and  by  proxy  is  my  answer. 

On  the  one  hand,  we  need  extemporaneous  prayers. 
Observe,  however,  that  when  I  say  "  extemporaneous, " 
I  do  not  mean  unpremeditated.  For  no  minister  has 
a  right  to  undertake  to  lead  his  people  in  their  devo- 
tions, and  at  the  same  time  to  allow  himself  to  drift 
before  God  in  his  praying.  If  ever  a  pastor  should 
carefully  arrange  his  thoughts  beforehand,  asking 
the  Spirit's  guidance  in  his  preparation,  it  is  when 
he  undertakes  to  present  his  flock  before  the  Chief 
Pastor,  voicing  for  them  their  manifold  desires  and 


WORSHIP  IN  NON-LITURGICAL   CHURCHES     303 

needs.  No;  by  extemporaneous  prayers  I  mean 
prayers  that  are  unwritten,  or  at  least  unread.  And 
such  prayers,  when  duly  premeditated,  are  apt  to  be 
fresh,  specific,  appropriate,  sympathetic,  fervent, 
unctional.  Just  here,  as  I  venture  to  think  (may  my 
dear  brethren  of  the  liturgical  churches  forgive  me 
for  saying  it!),  is  one  of  the  serious  defects  in  their 
noble  form  of  worship.  Profoundly  convinced  as  I 
am  of  the  need  and  the  beauty  of  liturgical  forms  of 
worship,  I  would  never  surrender  the  precious  privi- 
leges and  spiritual  worth  of  extemporaneous  prayers 
in  the  house  of  God.  But  as  this  is  already  one  of 
our  established  usages,  I  need  not  descant  on  it 
further. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  need  forms  of  devotion  as 
well  as  the  spirit  of  devotion.  Young  brethren,  the 
older  I  grow,  the  more  incompetent  I  feel  for  attempt- 
ing to  lead  the  people's  devotions  extemporaneously. 
As  the  flying  years  bring  with  them  more  of  experi- 
ence and  observation,  the  more  I  shrink  from  the 
possible  disasters  incident  to  extemporaneous  prayers, 
—  for  instance,  grammatical  blunders ;  tortuous 
movements;  forced  retreats;  explanatory  paren- 
theses; ill-timed  allusions;  unfortunate  reminis- 
cences, and  oblivions  as  unfortunate;  unintentional 
exaggerations;  personal  idiosyncrasies;  capricious 
moods ;  theological  processes ;  conscious  mentalities ; 
in  one  word,  egoism.  And  therefore  I  thank  the 
Master  of  Assemblies  that  He  has  at  sundry  times  and 
divers  manners  moved  saintly  men  of  all  communions 


304  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

to  provide  prayers  for  the  use  of  His  Church, —  prayers 
which  are  choice  in  thought;  brief  in  statement; 
comprehensive  in  range;  manifold  in  variety;  spe- 
cific in  details ;  reverent  in  expression ;  hallowed  in 
associations;  reverend  in  antiquity.  For  prayers, 
like  hymns,  are  the  common  heritage  of  all  Christ's 
people  in  all  lands  and  all  times  and  all  communions. 
Our  brethren  of  the  Greek  Church  have  no  more  right 
to  monopolize  the  Prayer  of  St.  Chrysostom  than  our 
brethren  of  the  Methodist  Church  have  the  right  to 
monopolize  Charles  Wesley's  "Jesus,  Lover  of  my 
Soul."  If  it  is  right  to  praise  God  by  singing  to- 
gether the  same  hymns,  why  is  it  not  right  to  pray 
to  God  by  joining  together  in  the  same  prayers?  Is 
prayer  less  solemn  than  praise?  Oh,  brothers,  why 
take  such  pains  to  elaborate  our  written  sermons 
before  finite  and  sinful  men,  and  yet  presume  to 
extemporize  our  prayers  before  infinite  and  sinless 
God?  Of  whom  shall  we  be  the  more  afraid,  —  them 
who  can  kill  the  body,  and  alter  that  have  no  more 
that  they  can  do ;  or  Him  who  has  power  to  destroy 
both  body  and  soul  in  Gehenna?  Yea,  I  say  unto 
you,  Fear  Him. 

But  while  all  this  is  true,  we  must  take  care  lest 
in  our  use  of  collects  and  liturgical  prayers  we  allow 
ourselves  to  become  slaves  to  a  ritual.  Laws  which 
alter  not  may  have  become  heathen  Medes  and  Per- 
sians: they  hardly  become  the  followers  of  Christ; 
for  where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty. 
Appropriate,  beautiful,  devout,  uplifting  as  many  of 


WORSHIP  IN  NON-LITURGICAL   CHURCHES    305 

the  collects  are,  they  must  not  be  allowed  to  supplant 
liberty  of  conscience  or  freedom  of  emotion  and  ex- 
pression. Minister  and  people  must  stand  fast  here 
in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  set  us  free,  lest  we 
be  entangled  again  in  some  yoke  of  bondage  which 
our  liturgical  fathers  or  our  non-liturgical  contem- 
poraries may  have  imposed.  Having  thus  insisted 
on  the  right  of  Christian  liberty  here,  I  feel  free  to 
say  that  while  extemporaneous  prayers  and  liturgical 
prayers  are  both  allowable,  they  are  hardly  equally 
allowable,  my  judgment  leaning,  in  the  majority  of 
cases,  to  the  use  of  appropriate  and  hallowed  for- 
mulas. Doubtless  the  wisest  course  here  is  to  have 
a  liturgy  which  is  flexible,  judiciously  blending  the 
stateliness  of  ancient  formulas  and  the  tenderness 
of  modern  adjustments. 

Glancing  back  at  the  territory  through  which  we 
have  sped,  let  me  re-indicate  some  of  the  points 
where  we  halted  for  special  inspections.  We  have 
seen  that  worship  is  a  divine  instinct;  that  the  God 
of  Revelation  made  provision  for  this  instinct  in  His 
liturgy  for  ancient  Israel;  that  Israel's  liturgy  was 
abolished  under  and  in  Christ;  that,  notwithstand- 
ing this  abolition,  forms  of  worship  are  still  indis- 
pensable; that  liturgy  is  a  question  of  degree  rather 
than  of  substance;  that  devotions  are  the  chief  parts 
of  worship;  that  worship  in  non-liturgical  churches 
tends  to  be  vicarious;  that  we  must  guard  against 
vain  repetitions;  that  "the  Lord's  Prayer"  is  our 
model  for  worship;  that  the  two  chief  elements  of 


306  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

worship  are  praise  and  prayer ;  that  music  is  the  natu- 
ral outlet  of  praise ;  that  the  Psalter  is  the  Church's 
chief  praise-book ;  that  chanting  is  the  noblest  form 
of  church  music ;  that  extemporaneous  prayers  have 
certain  immense  advantages  of  freshness,  adapted- 
ness,  personality,  sympathy,  fervor,  unction;  that 
liturgical  prayers  have  also  certain  immense  advan- 
tages of  variety,  brevity,  specialty,  reverence,  pre- 
ciousness,  and  above  all,  concord. 

To  sum  up  as  compactly  as  possible :  Worship  in 
non-liturgical  churches  should  have  a  liturgy  that  is 
flexible ;  thus  joining  the  stability  of  the  golden  altar 
with  the  mobility  of  its  soaring  incense.  So  shall 
the  two  pillars  of  our  praise  and  prayer  in  the 
temple  of  our  God  be  called  "  Jachin  "  (that  is,  "  He 
shall  establish")  and  "Boaz"  (that  is,  "In  it  is 
strength  "). 

After  all,  young  brothers,  daily  life  is  the  real 
worship ;  daily  character  is  the  true  liturgy.  Listen 
to  Jerusalem's  great  Pastor :  — 

"  Pure  religion  (Oprjo-Kua,  worship,  ritual)  and  undefiled 
before  our  God  and  Father  is  this,  to  visit  the  fatherless 
and  the  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  himself 
unspotted  from  the  world."  —  James  i.  27. 

"  There  are  in  this  loud,  stunning  tide 
Of  human  care  and  crime, 
With  whom  the  melodies  abide 
Of  the  everlasting  chime ; 


WORSHIP  IN  NON-LITURGICAL   CHURCHES    307 

Who  carry  music  in  their  heart 

Through  dusky  lane  and  mart, 
Plying  their  daily  task  with  busier  feet, 
Because  their  secret  souls  a  holy  strain  repeat." 

—  Keble's  Christian  Year. 

Be  it  for  you  and  me  thus  to  worship.  Thus  wor- 
shipping, we  shall  be  admitted  to  that  nobler  service, 
in  that  purer  realm,  wherein  there  shall  be  no  longer 
need  of  sun  or  moon,  church  or  rite;  for  the  Lord 
God,  the  Almighty,  is  the  temple  of  it^  and  the  Lamb 
is  the  liturgy  thereof. 

"  Almighty  and  merciful  God,  of  whose  only  gift  it 
Cometh  that  Thy  faithful  people  do  unto  Thee  true  and 
laudable  service ;  grant,  we  beseech  Thee,  that  we  may  so 
faithfully  serve  Thee  in  this  life,  that  we  fail  not  finally  to 
attain  Thy  heavenly  promises;  through  the  merits  of 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen.** —  Collect, 


X 

THE  IDEAL  OF  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

By  the  Rev.  THOMAS   S.   HASTINGS,  D.D,  LL.D. 

President  of  the  Faculty  of  Union  Theological  Seminary, 
New  York  City. 


THE  IDEAL  OF  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

T^HIS  course  of  lectures  began  with  an  admirable 
-*-  presentation  of  the  Principles  of  Christian 
Worship.  Then  followed  historical  discussions  of 
the  chief  representative  liturgies,  showing  an  evolu- 
tion which  prepared  the  way  for  the  final  theme,  — 
The  Ideal  of  Christian  Worship. 

The  terms  are  simple,  and  yet  there  may  be  help 
in  definition.  What  is  an  ideal?  An  ideal  is  the 
superlative,  the  uttermost  degree  of  excellence,  of 
beauty,  and  of  power  of  which  a  thing  is  capable. 
It  is  that  toward  which  all  development  tends :  it  is 
the  goal  of  progress.  The  value  and  power  of  the 
ideal  can  hardly  be  overestimated.  In  his  History 
of  Rationalism  in  Europe,  Lecky  says  ^  that  it  is 
"  the  assimilating  and  attractive  influence  of  a  per- 
fect ideal,"  which  has  been  "the  main  source  of  the 
moral  development  of  Europe. "  To  some  the  ideal 
is  only  a  visionary  thing.  It  savors  of  building  cas- 
tles in  the  air.  But,  as  Thoreau  says,^  "If  you 
have  built  castles  in  the  air,  your  work  need  not  be 
lost:  that  is  where  they  should  be.     Now  put  foun- 

I   Vol.  i.  p.  336.  2  ^aWen,  p.  346. 


312  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

dations  under  them. "  That  touches  the  vital  point. 
We  must  build  castles  in  the  air,  but  can  we,  will  we 
put  foundations  under  them?  Without  the  ideal 
there  would  be  no  aspiration,  no  progress. 

The  other  term  to  be  defined  is  worship.  In  the 
most  general  sense  it  is  the  natural  or  instinctive 
recognition  and  assertion  of  our  divine  kinship;  it 
is  the  uplifting  and  outgoing  of  the  soul  toward  the 
author  and  the  end  of  its  being.  Not  impression 
but  expression  is  its  main  object,  its  characteristic 
idea.  Worship  is  the  expression  to  God  of  the 
souPs  convictions  and  emotions ;  —  it  involves  rev- 
erence for  God  in  Christ,  penitence,  faith,  love,  joy, 
gratitude,  hope,  aspiration  and  holy  desire.  It  is 
the  expression  of  the  inward  faith  and  love  of  the 
believer  by  methods  and  forms  corresponding  to  the 
nature  of  the  soul.  Vinet  says:^  "Worship  is  the 
more  immediate  expression,  the  purely  religious 
form  of  religion.  It  is  the  internal  or  external  act 
of  adoration,  —  adoration  in  act.  Now  adoration  is 
nothing  else  than  the  direct  and  solemn  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  divinity  of  God,  and  of  our  obligations 
to  Him. "  It  is  important  to  remember  that  there  are 
two  sides  of  worship,  the  divine  and  the  human.  In 
prayer  man  draws  near  to  God,  and  God  draws  near 
to  man.  The  divine  spirit  co-operates  with  the 
human  spirit  in  every  true  prayer.  It  has  been 
beautifully  said  that  "Worship  is  the  dialogue  be- 

1  Vinet's  Pastoral  Theologij,  p.  178. 


THE  IDEAL   OF  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP       313 

tween  God  and  the  soul  " ;  or,  as  another  i  puts  it, 
true  prayer  is  "a  part  of  God's  soliloquy."  If  the 
divine  participation  be  wanting,  it  is  because  the 
human  service  is  not  genuine.  In  real  worship  God 
and  man  are  together,  and  are  co-operating. 

The  question  will  be  asked,  —  How  much  of  our 
public  service  is  to  be  considered  as  comprehended 
in  worship?  Yinet  says,2  "Public  worship,  other- 
wise called  service  or  divine  office,  comprehends, 
according  to  the  ordinary  idea,  whatever  is  per- 
formed during  the  time  in  which  an  assembly  remains 
together  in  the  name  of  God  and  for  the  cause  of 
God. "  But  our  question  was  more  fittingly  answered 
in  the  opening  lecture  of  this  course.     We  were  told 

that  there  are  seven  elements  in  public  worship, 

"the  hymn,  the  Scripture,  the  belief,  the  prayers, 
the  oblation,  the  teaching,  the  sacraments."  This 
is  the  general  and  prevailing  view.  And  yet  there 
are  some  who  deny  that  the  sermon  is  really  a  part 
of  the  worship.  But  it  should  be  remembered  that 
the  true  object  of  a  sermon  is  to  feed  the  fires  of 
devotion,  of  consecration,  and  of  service.  Devotional 
feeling  must  have  a  basis  of  knowledge,  thought,  and 
conviction.  Emotion  is  secondary;  it  must  be  fed, 
or  it  will  soon  burn  out.  Instruction  feeds  the  flame 
of  worship,  and  through  it  comes  that  necessary 
increment  of  knowledge  which  is  fuel  for  the  altar 
fire  of  worship.     Sometimes  the  tendency  has  been 

1  Radical  Problems,  p.  89. 

2  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  198. 


314  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

to  crowd  out  the  sermon  by  the  predominance  of  other 
parts  of  the  service ;  at  other  times  the  sermon  by 
its  length  has  lessened  the  time  for  reading,  song, 
and  prayer.  Luther  went  to  an  extreme  in  this 
matter.  He  said,  "  The  greatest  and  most  important 
part  of  all  the  worship  of  God  is  the  preacliing  and 
the  teaching  oE  God's  Word."  He  even  went  so 
far  as  to  say,  "Wherever  the  Word  of  God  is  not 
preached,  there  it  is  better  neither  to  sing,  nor  to 
read,  nor  to  assemble  together."  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Presbyterian  Directory  for  Worship  says,^  "As 
one  primary  design  of  public  ordinances  is  to  pay 
social  acts  of  homage  to  the  most  high  God,  minis- 
ters ought  to  be  careful  not  to  make  their  sermons  so 
long  as  to  interfere  with  or  exclude  the  more  impor- 
tant duties  of  prayer  and  praise ;  but  preserve  a  just 
proportion  between  the  several  parts  of  public  wor- 
ship. "  Those  are  wise  words.  The  ideal  of  worship 
requires  that  this  "just  proportion"  of  its  several 
parts  be  carefully  preserved.  Ritual  and  liturgy 
must  not  crowd  the  sermon  and  so  limit  its  useful- 
ness as  a  means  of  promoting  a  thoughtful  and  an 
intelligent  worship.  On  the  other  hand,  the  sermon 
must  not  be  permitted  to  subordinate  praise  and 
prayer,  or  the  reading  of  the  Word.  In  the  non- 
litdrgical  churches  the  sermon  is  generally  too  long; 
while  in  the  liturgical  churches  it  is  apt  to  be  too 
short. 

It  would  be   quite   impossible  within  the  limits 

1  Chapter  vii.  4. 


THE  IDEAL   OF  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP       315 

assigned  to  this  lecture  to  speak  at  length  of  all  the 
seven  elements  of  public  worship  which  have  been 
named.  A  few  words  may  be  said  concerning  some 
of  these  elements,  and  then  a  more  extended  consid- 
eration of  the  others  will  be  undertaken.  I  shall  not 
follow  the  order  of  the  seven  elements,  because  the 
first,  "the  hymn,"  and  the  fourth,  "the  prayer," 
require  the  chief  places  in  our  discussion. 

The  second  element  in  worship  is  "the  Scripture." 
The  reading  of  the  Divine  Word  is  a  part  of  the  wor- 
ship, not  as  bibliolatry,  but  as  a  homage  to  the  recorded 
will  of  God.  The  ideal  is  that  the  Word  shall  be 
read  with  such  intelligence,  clearness,  and  emphasis 
that  its  meaning  shall  be  apparent,  and  its  power 
and  beauty  shall  be  felt  by  the  people.  Responsive 
reading  makes  good  reading  impossible.  It  breaks 
the  exquisite  rhythm  and  the  fine  coherence  and 
continuity  of  the  Scriptures.  Another  element  in 
the  ideal  of  this  part  of  the  worship  is,  that  as  much 
as  possible  of  the  Word  should  be  read  in  the  course 
of  each  year  in  the  public  services.  A  Lectionary, 
or  table  of  selections  from  Scripture,  would  serve  an 
excellent  purpose.  It  would  insure  a  far  more  com- 
prehensive public  reading  of  the  Bible  than  is  possi- 
ble while  the  minister  is  left,  as  now,  to  make  his 
selection  with  reference  to  his  sermon,  or  to  be 
guided  only  by  his  taste  and  feeling.  The  Bible  is 
a  large  book,  much  larger  than  any  one  minister. 
Its  public  reading  should  not  be  circumscribed  by  the 
small  limitations  of  any  one  man.     The  ideal  is  to 


/ 


316  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

have  the  whole  of  the  Scriptures  as  fully  represented 
from  year  to  year  in  the  public  reading  as  may  be 
consistent  with  the  maintenance  of  a  due  proportion 
of  the  several  parts  of  the  worship. 

The  third  element  of  public  worship  is  "  the  belief. " 
That  venerable  and  beautiful  symbol,  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  of  course  belongs  equally  to  all  the  churches, 
and  deserves  a  place  in  all  public  worship  at  least 
once  on  the  Sabbath.  It  should  be  repeated  in  uni- 
son by  the  whole  body  of  worshippers  standing 
together  before  God. 

The  oblation  was  named  as  the  fifth  element  of 
public  worship.  The  Psalmist  cries,  "  Give  unto  the 
Lord  the  glory  due  unto  His  name ;  bring  an  offering y 
and  come  into  His  courts."  (Ps.  xcvi.  8.)  The 
ideal  worship  will  no  more  be  empty-handed  than  it 
will  be  songless  or  prayerless.  The  gold,  frankin- 
cense, and  myrrh  wise  men  will  bring  whenever  they 
gather  to  worship  the  incarnate  Lord.  Instead  of 
occasional  contributions,  there  will  be  in  every  ser- 
vice free-will  offerings  as  inseparable  from  worship  as 
are  songs  and  prayers.  The  treasury  of  the  Lord 
will  then  be  full.  Giving  will  be  a  delight;  not  a 
hesitant  and  reluctant  answer  to  arguments  and 
appeals,  but  a  glad  and  grateful,  a  spontaneous  and 
habitual  offering  unto  God. 

The  Sacraments  constitute  the  crowning  element  of 
worship.  Only  a  few  words  may  be  said  concerning 
the  Holy  Communion.  This  beautiful  symbolic 
ordinance  deserves  a  high  place  in  public  worship. 


THE  IDEAL  OF  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP       317 

To  put  its  observance  at  the  close  of  an  ordinary  ser- 
vice is  to  endanger  its  spiritual  value,  unless  it  can 
be  made  the  culmination,  and  not  the  mere  hurried 
conclusion  of  such  a  service.     One  thing  should  be 
emphasized:  the  celebration  of  the  Eucharist  is  not 
by  any  means  a  fitting  occasion  for  didactic  or  for 
evangelistic  talk.     It  is  not  the  fitting  occasion  for 
instructing   or   exhorting   believers,  much   less   for 
warning  unbelievers.     It  is  pre-eminently  a  Com- 
munion Service,  in  which  fellowship  with  Christ  and 
with  one  another  should  characterize  the  worship; 
and  this  fellowship  should  be  full  of  praise,  of  grati- 
tude, of  gladness,  and  of  hope.     To  my  mind  it  would 
be  ideal  if  all  churches  could  agree  to  be  visibly  one 
in  the  celebration  of  this  ordinance,  both  as  to  the 
time  and  as  to  the  mode  of  its  celebration.     It  would 
indeed  be  inspiring  to  feel  that  the  whole  believing 
host  is  at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same  way  com- 
memorating the  sacrifice  of  our  common  Lord  and 
Saviour.     Surely  we  might  —  God  grant  that  we  may 
—  agree,  in  all  branches  of  the  Church,  upon  some 
common  order  for  at  least  this  one  delightful  service. 
This  order  should  not  be  made  by  any  one  church, 
but  should  be  compiled  from  the  usages  and  from  the 
historic  treasures  of  all  the  churches,  both  liturgical 
and  non-liturgical.     Could  we  reach  such  an  agree- 
ment,  it  would  be  an  ideal  movement  toward   the 
inviting   goal   of    Church    Unity.      It   would   be  a 
thrilling  scene   to   angels   and   to   men,   if   all   be- 
lievers,   in    holy    concert    of    the    common    faith, 


318  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

would  thus  unite   in  celebrating  the  Supper  of  the 
Lord. 

Thus  far  all  of  the  seven  elements  of  public  wor- 
ship have  been  considered  except  the  first  and  the 
fourth,  the  hymn  and  the  prayer.  To  these  our 
attention  shall  now  be  given. 

The  Hymn.  — The  ideal  is  that  as  many  as  possible 
.shall  take  at  least  some  part  in  the  service  of  song 
>/  and  of  prayer.  Neither  the  minister  nor  the  choir 
should  be  so  prominent  as  to  dishonor  or  to  discredit 
the  true  priesthood  of  the  body  of  believers.  Chris- 
tians are  "  an  holy  priesthood  to  offer  up  spiritual  sacri- 
fices acceptable  to  God  by  Christ  Jesus  "  ;  they  are  "  a 
royal  priesthood,  an  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people, 
that  they  should  shew  forth  the  praises  of  Him  who 
hath  called  them  out  of  darkness  into  His  marvellous 
light."  (1  Pet.  ii.  5,  9;  cf.  Isa.  li.  6;  Rev.  i.  6.) 
As  PearsalP  says,  "The  complaint  of  many  intelli- 
gent Christians  is  not  that  we  have  too  much  of  the 
voice  of  the  minister,  but  too  little  of  the  voices  of 
the  people,  —  that  too  much  is  done  for  them,  and 
too  little  hy  them.  There  is  an  excess  of  listemng 
in  our  devotional  services."  This  complaint,  of 
which  Mr.  Pearsall  thus  speaks,  is  becoming  more 
and  more  general  and  imperative.  Tlie  people  are 
willing  that  the  minister  and  the  choir  should  in 
some  fitting  measure  represent  them  in  song  and  in 
prayer,  but  they  rightfully  claim  that  their  own 
voices  shall  be  heard  in  the  services.  This  claim 
cannot  safely  be  disregarded. 

1  Public  Worship;  the  Best  Methods  of  Conducting  it,  p.  160, 


THE  IDEAL  OF  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP       819 

Jonathan  Edwards  took  the  deepest  interest  in 
this  part  of  public  worship,  and  he  uttered  these 
pungent  words,  which  the  Church  of  to-day  sadly 
needs  to  hear:  "As  it  is  commanded  of  God  that 
all  should  sing,  so  all  should  make  conscience 
of  learning  to  sing,  as  it  is  a  thing  that  cannot  be 
done  decently  without  learning.  Those  therefore 
who  neglect  to  learn  to  sing  live  in  sin,  as  they  >/ 
neglect  what  is  necessary  to  their  attending  one  of  the 
ordinances  of  God^s  tvorship.'^^  ^  These  words  con- 
vict most  of  the  churches  of  to-day  as  living  in 
sin  in  neglecting  systematic  instruction  in  church 
music.  In  the  early  Christian  centuries  the  Church 
recognized  its  duty  in  this  regard.  Gregory  the 
Great  established  singing  schools  in  Rome,  and  often  ^ 
attended  them  himself.  In  this  country,  especially 
after  the  Revolution,  singing  schools  were  common 
and  characteristic.  But  during  recent  years  such 
schools  are  scarcely  known,  and  are  not  in  any  way 
recognized  as  necessary  for  the  proper  equipment  of 
the  Church,  or  for  the  maintenance  of  such  singing 
in  the  sanctuary  as,  to  use  Edwards's  words,  "cannot 
be  done  decently  without  learning."  Meanwhile 
the  reading  of  music  at  sight  is  almost  a  lost  art,  so 
that  for  the  most  part  the  singing  of  God's  praise 
must  of  necessity  be  done  by  proxy,  except  so  far  as 
the  old  tunes,  learned  by  ear,  are  retained,  to  the 
deep  and  restless  dissatisfaction  of  the  young  and  of 

1  Quoted  by  the  Reverend  J.  Spencer  Pearsall  in  his  Public  Wor- 
ship, p.  109. 


320  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

all  who  love  good  music.  The  churches  of  course 
must  suffer  for  this  neglect  of  duty,  and  they 
deserve  no  sympathy  whatever  for  the  endless  trou- 
bles they  are  having  with  choirs  and  with  those  who 
want  something  more  and  better  than  "Windham," 
"Dundee,"  and  "Balerma."  In  England,  Scot- 
land, and  Wales  the  situation  is  by  no  means  so 
bad.  Under  the  influence  of  the  Cur  wens,  of  Dykes, 
Barnby,  Smart,  Monk,  and  of  many  others,  there  is 
an  active  interest  in  the  promotion  of  the  practical 
training  of  congregations  in  church  music.  Mr. 
Curwen  says,^  "The  example  of  every  church  whose 
psalmody  has  reached  a  high  degree  of  congregational 
power  and  beauty  shows  that  the  key  to  success  is 
hard  and  sustained  work  in  teaching  the  congrega- 
tion. "  Then  this  author  tells  us  how  this  work  is 
done  in  many  different  churches  through  "  Psalmody 
Improvement  Associations  ";  through  large  elemen- 
tary classes  in  which  congregations  are  taught  to  read 
music ;  and  through  regular  "  practices  "  (or  rehear- 
sals), "Psalmody  Classes,"  and  Praise  Services. 
This  educational  work,  we  are  told,  has  yielded 
excellent  and  delightful  results. 

We  are  living  in  the  era  of  the  Hymn-Tune  Book. 
Our  forefathers  had  only  psalm-books,  and  would 
tolerate  nothing  else.  Sternhold  and  Hopkins, 
Rouse,  Tate  and  Brady,  Ainsworth's  Psalms,  the  Bay 
Psalm-book,  and  then  Watts's  Psalms  and  Hymns, 
—  this  is  the  familiar  succession.     Isaac  Watts  is 

1  Studies  in  Worship  Music,  by  J.  Spencer  Curwen,  p.  162. 


THE  IDEAL   OF  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP       321 

styled  the  "Inventor  of  Hymns. '^  But  in  all  the 
editions  of  Watts's  Psalms  and  Hymns,  a  sharp  dis- 
tinction was  maintained  between  psalms  and  hymns ; 
they  were  separated.  But  that  distinction  and  sepa- 
ration are  practically  lost.  For  convenience  of  adap- 
tation, the  Hymn -Tune  Book  has  mingled  the  psalms 
and  the  hymns  together,  and  gradually  the  rapid 
multiplication  of  hymns  has  been  steadily  crowding  y 
out  the  psalms  from  our  repertoire.  For  the  last 
forty  years,  that  is,  throughout  the  era  of  the  Hymn- 
Tune  Book  (which  began  in  1856),  this  process  has 
been  steadily  going  on.  What  will  be  the  result  ? 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  best  and  noblest  of  the 
versions  may  be  retained.  We  cannot  afford  to  lose 
them.  But  probably  metrical  versions  of  the  Psalms 
will  be  to  a  great  extent  succeeded  by  a  revival  of 
chanting,  which,  though  a  low  order  of  music,  has 
this  great  advantage,  that  it  preserves  and  honors  the 
exact  language  of  the  Psalter.  Hymns  must  have 
place  and  recognition,  for  it  is  the  inalienable  right 
of  each  age  and  generation  to  make  and  to  sing  its 
own  songs  of  praise.  Dr.  Watts  said :  ^  "  Moses  and 
Deborah,  and  the  princes  of  Israel,  David,  Asaph, 
and  Habakkuk,  and  all  the  saints  under  the  Jewish 
state,  sung  their  own  joys  and  victories,  their  own 
hopes  and  fears  and  deliverances ;  and  why  must  we, 
under  the  Gospel,  sing  nothing  else  but  the  joys, 
hopes,  and  fears  of  Asaph  and  David  ?  Why  must 
Christians  be  forbid  all  other  melody  but  what  arises 

1   Works,  iv.  116. 
21 


322  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

from  the  victories  and  deliverances  of  the  Jews  ? 
David  would  have  thought  it  very  hard  to  have  been 
confined  to  tlie  words  of  Moses,  and  sung  nothing  else 
on  all  his  rejoicing  days  but  the  drowning  of  Pharaoh 
in  the  fifteenth  of  Exodus."  Of  course  Dr.  Watts 
was  right.  We  must  have  our  own  hymns.  Demand 
will  regulate  supply.  Ephemeral  hymns  and  tunes 
will  intrude  themselves  for  a  time,  but  will  disappear 
as  the  level  of  education  is  lifted. 

I  have  said  nothing  of  instrumental  music  as  an 
aid  in  worship.  The  organ  has  come  to  stay,  for  it 
deserves  to  stay.  Dr.  Bushnell  said  of  it :  ^  "  This 
is  the  instrument  of  God,  and  so  in  fact  it  now  is. 
The  grandest  of  all  instruments,  it  is,  as  it  should 
be,  the  instrument  of  religion.  Profane  uses  cannot 
handle  it.  It  will  not  go  to  the  battle,  nor  the  dance, 
nor  the  serenade ;  for  it  is  the  holy  Nazarite,  and  can- 
not leave  the  courts  of  the  Lord. "  ^  But  are  we  to  have 
other  instruments  in  the  sanctuary  ?    Who  shall  dare 

1  Work  and  Play,  p.  460. 

2  In  1 735,  the  Dean  of  Berkeley  presented  an  organ  to  the  town 
which  bears  his  name,  but  in  a  public  meeting  the  people  voted  that 
'*  An  organ  is  an  instrument  of  the  Devil,  for  the  entrapping  of  men's 
souls";  and  so  they  declined  to  receive  the  generous  gift.  {Studies 
in  Worship  Music,  by  J.  Spencer  Curwen,  p.  62.)  The  violoncello  was 
the  first  instrument  to  invade  the  sanctuary.  It  was  sneeringly  called 
"  the  Lord's  Fiddle."  It  drove  many  people  from  the  churches.  Even 
Dr.  Emmons  left  the  pulpit,  and  refused  to  preach,  when  he  heard  the 
violoncello  in  the  choir  gallery.  The  churches  were  distracted  and 
divided  by  the  innovation,  and  in  the  language  of  that  day  were  known 
as  "  Catgut "  or  "  Anti-catgut "  churches.  Comp.  Hood's  History  of 
Music  in  New  England;  The  Sabbath  in  Puritan  New  England,  by- 
Alice  Morse  Earle. 


THE  IDEAL   OF  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP       323 

exclude  them  if  they  can  aid  the  service  of  song? 
iRead  the  hist  Psalm  in  the  Psalter  as  the  best  and 
briefest  treatment  of  this  point.  "  Praise  ye  the  Lord. 
Praise  God  in  His  sanctuary;  praise  Him  in  the 
firmament  of  His  power.  Praise  Him  for  His  mighty 
acts ;  praise  Him  according  to  His  excellent  great- 
ness. Praise  Him  with  the  sound  of  the  trumpet; 
praise  Him  with  the  psaltery  and  harp.  Praise 
Him  with  the  timbrel  and  dance ;  praise  Him  with 
stringed  instruments  and  organs  [or  "the  pipe,"  as 
the  Revision  has  it].  Praise  Him  upon  the  loud  cym- 
bals; praise  Him  upon  the  high  sounding  cymbals. 
Let  everything  that  hath  breath  praise  the  Lord. 
Praise  ye  the  Lord."  This  would  seem  to  justify  a 
whole  orchestra  in  the  church,  if  thereby  the  praise 
of  God  may  be  promoted.  The  best  and  highest  that 
we  can  bring  to  the  altar  we  owe  to  Him  whom  we 
worship.  Art  must  be  subordinate ;  must  serve  and 
not  dominate.  Architecture  and  music  we  must 
have.  Painting  and  sculpture  we  may  have,  if  only 
they  can  serve  and  not  rule. 

One  principle  must  be  emphasized  as  bearing 
equally  both  upon  praise  and  prayer.  While  we 
deprecate  the  entire  silence  of  the  people  in  public 
worship,  it  must  not  be  assumed  by  any  means 
that  they  cannot  join  in  song  or  in  prayer  except 
as  they  join  with  their  voices.  That  would  be  a 
monstrous  assumption  against  which  all  churches, 
liturgical  and  non-liturgical,  must  alike  protest. 
Worship  may  be  silent.     There  should  be  some  sing- 


324  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

ing  in  which  the  people  do  not  join  with  their  voices, 
but  only  with  their  hearts.  Introits,  Anthems, 
Psalms,  and  Hymns,  in  some  parts  of  the  service, 
may  be  so  sung  by  the  representatives  of  the  people 
that  the  singing  shall  be  both  an  education  and  a 
spiritual  help  to  the  silent  worshippers.  It  can  be 
wisely  claimed  only  that  the  people  shall  have  some 
vocal  participation  both  in  song  and  in  prayer. 

Now  can  we  give  the  ideal  of  this  part  of  public 
worship  ?  The  ministry  will  be  so  trained  in  the 
theological  schools  that  they  can  intelligently  guide 
and  elevate  the  praises  of  the  sanctuary.  The  Church 
will  feel  that  she  must  systematically  promote  and 
maintain  such  musical  education  as  will  make  the 
praise  of  God  in  his  house  a  delight  and  a  service 
worthy  of  His  holy  name.  There  will  not  only  be 
schools  and  classes  for  instruction,  but  there  will  be 
gatherings  of  the  congregations  for  special  practice, 
tuition,  and  rehearsal.  As  all  can  be  taught  to  sing, 
all  will  be  taught  to  sing.  I  know  that  some  will 
question  this  statement;  let  me  fortify  it  by  high 
authorities.  Curwen  says :  ^  "  The  question  may  be 
asked.  Do  you  really  mean  that  all  persons  can  be 
taught  to  sing?  What  about  those  that  have  no 
voice,  or  no  ear  ?  To  this  I  reply,  that  although 
natural  capacity  for  singing  differs  greatly  in  dif- 
ferent people,  I  believe  that,  speaking  generally,  all 
persons  can  be  taught  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  take 
their  natural  part  in  the  chants  and  hymn-tunes  of 

1  Studies  in  Worship  Music,  p.  155. 


THE  IDEAL  OF  CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP        325 

the  service.  Dr.  Hullah^  is  never  tired  of  reiterating 
his  disbelief  in  the  common  talk  about  people  having 
no  ear,  and  no  voice.  It  is,  of  course,  easier  for  a  boy 
to  learn  to  sing  than  a  man ;  it  is  easier  for  some  men 
than  for  others ;  but  it  is  impossible  for  so  very  small 
a  minority,  that  we  may  safely  say  it  is  possible  for 
all. "  Then  the  people  will  praise  the  Lord  in  the 
beauty  of  holiness.  Is  there  any  other  being  so  sen- 
sitive, so  refined,  so  delicate  in  taste  and  feeling  as 
is  the  God  we  worship  ?  He  who  has  made  the 
forms  and  colors  of  the  flowers  so  fine  and  fair, 
and  the  songs  of  the  birds  so  varied  and  sweet,  He 
surely  should  have  the  choicest  and  best  offerings  of 
our  minds  and  hearts,  of  our  hands  and  tongues.  He 
longs  for  the  faith,  the  confidence,  and  the  overflowing 
affection  of  his  worshippers;  for  as  that  exquisite 
Scripture  puts  it,  "  The  Lord  taketh  pleasure  in  His 
people."     (Ps.  cxlix.  4.) 

The  remaining  element  in  public  worship  which 
we  have  to  consider  is  prayer. 

Two  types  of  worship  have  characterized  Prot- 
estantism,—  liturgical  and  non-liturgical  services.  ^ 

1  John  Hullah,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Vocal  Music  in  Queen's  College 
and  in  Bedford  College,  Loudon. 

2  A  few  books  may  be  named  in  two  classes.  1st.  For  those  who 
are  opposed  to  liturgies  :  Miller  on  Public  Prayer ;  Henry  om  Prayer  ; 

Worship  of  the  Old  Covenant;  Willis's  Pulpit  Prayers  by  Eminent 
Preachers ;  The  Worship  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  D.  D.  Banner- 
man  ;  The  Worship  and  the  Offices  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  Dr.  G.  N. 
Sprott.  2dly.  For  those  who  favor  liturgies  :  Translations  of  the 
Primitive  Liturgies,  Neale  and  Littledale ;  The  Book  of  Common  Order, 


326  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

All  who  desire  the  unity  of  the  Church  should  seek 
to  blend  these  two  types  in  one.  That  is  the  ideal. 
Some  one  has  said,  "The  Gospel  edition  of  Levit- 
icus is  comprised  in  a  single  verse,  '  God  is  a 
Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  Him  must  worship 
Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth.'  "  All  will  agree  with 
that.  Worship  is  a  matter  of  spirit  rather  than  of 
form.  But  form  and  spirit  are  not  antagonistic. 
They  belong  together,  and  form  may  serve  and  help 
spirit,  and  spirit  may  subsidize,  beautify,  and  glorify 
form,  transfiguring  it  as  on  the  mount  of  vision.  My 
limits  forbid  a  full  review  of  the  history  of  what  the 
Presbyterian  Church  has  done  with  reference  to  this 
subject.  Only  some  necessary  points  shall  be  touched. 
In  1787,  a  committee,  appointed  the  year  before  to 
revise  the  "Book  of  Discipline  and  Directory  for 
Worship,''  reported  to  the  Synod  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  a  collection  of  devotional  forms,  speci- 
mens of  what  the  public  prayers  should  be.  A 
majority  of  the  Synod,  however,  decided  that  only 
directions,  and  not  forms,  should  be  given.  Against 
this  action  some  of  the  ablest  and  wisest  men  in  the 

commonly  known  as  John  Knox's  Liturg^i ;  Eutaxia,  or  the  Presbyterian 
Liturgies,  and  A  Book  of  Public  Prayer,  compiled  from  the  Authorized 
Formularies  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  as  prepared  by  the  Reformers, 
Calvin,  Knox,  Bucer,  and  others,  both  by  Dr.  C  "W.  Baird ;  A  General 
Liturgy  and  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  Dr.  S.  M.  Hopkins  ;  An  Order  of 
Wo7'ship,  with  Forms  of  Prayer  for  Divine  Service,  B.  B.  Comegys, 
LL.D. ;  also,  by  the  same  author,  Public  Worship,  partly  Respon- 
sive ;  Scriptural  Prayer  Book  for  Church  Services ;  A  Presbyterian 
Prayer  Book.  Other  books  will  be  named  as  reference  is  made  to 
them. 


THE  IDEAL   OF  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP       327 

Church  at  that  time  —  Doctors  Rogers,  McWhorter, 
Ashbel  Green,  and  others  —  protested,  desiring  that 
at  least  some  forms  should  be  given  to  the  churches. 
It  should  be  noted  that  forms  of  prayer  were  not  for- 
bidden, but  they  could  not  be  imposed  or  enjoined, 
I  quote  the  language  of  the  Directory :  "  But  we  think 
it  necessary  to  observe   that,  although  we   do   not 
approve,  as  is  well  known,  of  confining  ministers  to 
set  or  fixed  forms  of  prayer  for  public  worship;  yet 
it  is  the  indispensable  duty  of  every  minister,  previ- 
ously to  his  catering  on  his  office,  to  prepare  and 
qualify  himself  for  this  part  of  his  duty,  as  well  as 
for  preaching.     He  ought  by  a  thorough  acquaintance 
with  the  Holy  Scriptures,  by  reading  the  best  writers 
on  the  subject,  by  meditation,  and  by  a  life  of  com- 
munion with  God  in  secret,  to  endeavor  to  acquire 
both  the  spirit  and  the  gift  of  prayer. "  i     Going  back 
still  further,  I  would  emphasize  ihQ  fact  that  in  1543, 
Melancthon  and  Bucer  prepared  the  Cologne  Liturgy, 
a  translation  of  which  was  published  in  London  four 
years  later.     From  this  Cologne  Liturgy,  says  Arch-  y 
bishop  Laurence,   in  his  work   on   the   Thirty-nine 
Articles,  pp.  377,  378,  "  Our  offices  bear  evident  marks 
of  having  been  freely  borrowed,  liberally  imitating, 
but  not  servilely  copying  it."     That  is  the  Angli- 
can statement  of  the  case.     The  Presbyterian  state- 
ment is  more  definite  and   comprehensive.       It  is 
claimed  that  the  whole  Lord's  day  service,  as  usually 
celebrated,  "  contains  but  a  single  prayer  (and  even 

1  Directory  for  Worship,  chap.  v.  section  iv. 


328  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

this  exception  is  doubtful)  that  can  be  traced  to  a 
distinctively  Episcopalian  origin.  In  the  occasional 
offices  of  baptism,  matrimony,  visitation  of  the  sick, 
and  burial  of  the  dead,  the  question  of  authorship  lies 
between  the  Calvinist  and  the  Lutheran,  or  between 
the  French  and  the  German  Protestant,  rather  than 
between  the  Presbyterian  and  the  Episcopalian. "  ^ 
The  Booh  of  Common  Order^  prepared  by  John  Knox 
(1564),  had  much  in  common  with  the  Anglican 
Liturgy,  and  was  formally  adopted  by  the  General 
Assembly.  The  Scotch  Prayer  Book,  substantially 
agreeing  with  the  Anglican  Liturgy,  was  authorized 
by  the  General  Assembly  in  1637.  This  would 
doubtless  have  been  generally  acceptable,  but  for  the 
attempt  of  Charles  L  to  force  the  liturgy  upon  the 
Church.  This  attempt  led  to  the  Solemn  League  and 
Covenant,  which  was  the  bold  and  decisive  assertion 
of  such  liberty  as  Presbyterians  have  always  loved 
and  maintained.  After  the  Restoration,  the  Book 
of  Common  Prayer  would  have  been  adopted  by 
the  Presbyterians  if  it  had  been  changed  in  some 
particulars,  as  Charles  II.  promised  that  it  should 
be.  The  Savoy  Conference  failed  to  bring  about 
an  agreement,  and  then  followed  the  famous  Act 
of  Uniformity  in  1662.  Two  thousand  Presbyterian 
clergymen  thereupon  at  once  surrendered  their  liv- 
ings, and  went  forth  penniless  and  homeless,  because 
they  would  not  be  compelled  to  use  a  liturgy.     The 

1  Presbyterian    Book    of   Common    Prayer,    edited    by    Professor 
Charles  W.  Shields,  D.D.,  LL.D.    Liturgia  Expurgata,  p.  55. 


THE  IDEAL   OF  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP       329 

lessons  are  obvious.  The  Book  of  Common  Prayer 
cannot  be  considered  as  the  exclusive  property  of  any 
one  branch  of  the  Church;  it  really  belongs  to  the 
Church  Catholic.  It  is  a  legacy,  not  from  Cranmer 
alone,  but  also  from  Calvin  and  Melancthon  and 
Bucer  and  John  Knox.  Presbyterians  have  a  his- 
toric right  to  use  a  liturgy,  but  its  use  must  be  dis- 
cretionary, and  not  required. 

Whether  prayer  be  free  or  prescribed,  its  quality 
and  character  will  correspond  with  the  quality  and 
character  of  the  Church  and  of  her  ministry.  So 
Van  Oosterzee  says,^  speaking  of  Germany:  "As 
regards  the  contents,  we  see  reflected  also  in  the 
Church  prayer,  whether  free  or  prescribed,  the  differ- 
ent periods  which  were  passed  through  in  the  sphere 
of  Church  and  theology.  Orthodoxism  petrified  it; 
Formalism  lengthened  it;  Rationalism  diluted  and 
watered  it;  Crypto-Catholicism  restored  it  in  a  form 
harmonizing  with  its  own  aspirations;  but  happily 
also,  sincere  devotion  animated  and  raised  it,  in 
accordance  with  the  wants  of  the  time,  to  be  the 
worthy  expression  of  the  highest  life  of  the  soul." 

In  recent  years  there  has  been  a  growing  uneasi- 
ness with  reference  to  this  subject,  both  in  the  litur- 
gical and  in  the  non-liturgical  churches.  The  former 
want  more  liberty,  —  at  least  some  room  for  free 
prayer;  the  latter  want  less  liberty  and  more  uni- 
formit}^     In  1880,  in  his  brilliant  paper  read  before 

^  Practical  Theology,  by  Professor  J.  J.  Van  Oosterzee,  D.D., 
p.  4O0. 


330  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

the  Presbyterian  Alliance  in  Philadelphia,  the  late 
President  Roswell  D.  Hitchcock,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  said: 
"Now  in  all  liturgical  churches,  or  nearly  all,  the 
liturgy  is  no  longer  servant,  but  master.  There  is 
too  much  of  it  for  constant  repetition.  Liberty  of 
omitting  portions  not  always  apposite,  is  unwisely 
denied.  The  absolute  exclusion  of  extemporaneous 
petitions  is  equally  unwise.  And  the  overshadowed, 
dwarfed  discourse  would  be  a  great  misfortune  were 
good  discourse  otherwise  more  likely  to  be  had.  .  .  . 
One  of  these  days,  though  probably  not  till  we  are 
all  gone,  there  will  be  a  form  of  public  service,  which 
shall  suit  the  matured  and  cultured  none  the  less 
for  suiting  the  immature  and  uncultured.  ...  No 
existing  Prayer  Book  satisfies  any  good  Presbyterian. 
Still  less  would  any  good,  wise  Presbyterian  ask  to 
have  a  new  Prayer  Book  made  up  out  of  materials 
that  are  new.  The  materials  mostly  are  old ;  some 
of  them  very  old,  such  as  the  ^  Gloria  in  Excelsis,  * 
the  '  Tersanctus,'  and  the  *  Te  Deum.  *  Christen- 
dom could  better  spare  any  treatise  of  Athanasius 
than  the  prayer  ascribed  to  Chrysostom:  *  Fulfil 
now,  0  Lord,  the  desires  and  petitions  of  thy  ser- 
vants as  may  be  expedient  for  them,  granting  us  in 
this  world  knowledge  of  thy  truth,  and  in  the  world 
to  come  life  everlasting.'  The  farther  we  get  down 
the  centuries,  the  more  precious  will  be  to  us  the 
long  unbroken  melodies  of  praise  and  prayer." 

I  have  quoted  these  words  of  my  honored  predeces- 
sor, because  with  his  main  positions  I  heartily  agree ; 


THE  IDEAL   OF  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP       331 

but  I  cannot  quite  agree  with  what  he  said  about  exist- 
ing Prayer  Books,  and  this  may  be  because,  in  Dr. 
Hitchcock's  view,  I  am  not  a  good  Presbyterian.  I 
certainly  do  not  want  all  that  is  found  in  any  exist- 
ing Prayer  Book,  or  Ordinal,  but  as  certainly  I 
could  find  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  all  the 
forms  which  I  would  crave  for  the  use  of  our  non- 
liturgical  churches.  And  I  would  far  rather  have  the 
selections  made  from  that  venerable  and  beautiful 
liturgy,  than  to  have  new  forms  made  by  any  eccle- 
siastical body,  or  by  any  association.  I  am  not 
unmindful  of  the  excellent  work  which  has  been 
done  by  the  "Church  Service  Society  "  in  Scotland. 
That  Society  was  formed  in  Glasgow  in  1865.  The 
first  edition  of  its  Book  of  Common  Order  ^  was 
published  in  1867,  and  the  sixth  edition  in  1890,  at 
which  time  it  was  reported  that  there  were  five  hun- 
dred and  six  ministers  and  one  hundred  and  thirty 
laymen  in  the  membership  of  the  Society,  repre- 
senting more  than  sixty  different  Presbyteries.  The 
Editorial  Committee  of  this  Society  has  searched  the 
libraries  of  the  great  Universities  to  draw  from  all 
the  liturgical  literature  of  the  centuries  contributions 
for  their  work.  Their  methods  have  been  scholarly, 
their  labors  abundant,  and  the  results  are  of  exceed- 

1  ^vXoKoyiov.  A  Book  of  Common  Order,  being  Forms  of  Prayer 
and  Administration  of  the  Sacraments,  and  other  ordinances  of  the 
Church  ;  issued  by  the  Church  Service  Society.  William  Blackwood  and 
Sons,  Edinburgh  and  Loudon.  The  volume  contains  a  Lectionary 
intended  to  secure  in  the  public  reading  of  the  Scriptures  the  fullest 
and  most  comprehensive  representation  of  the  whole  Bible. 


332  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

ing  value.    A  similar  society,  bearing  the  same  name, 
has  been  organized  in  this  country.^     But  is  it  wise 

1  Dr.  Louis  F.  Benson,  of  Philadelphia,  is  the  President.  The 
statement  of  the  principles  of  this  American  "Church  Service 
Society  "   is  as  follows :  — 

"  I.  The  Church  Service  Society  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America  stands  upon  the  basis  of  that  doctrine  of 
the  Church,  the  Ministry,  and  the  Sacraments,  which  is  set  forth  in 
tlie  Westminster  standards ;  including  within  its  province  all  matters 
and  things  which  pertain  to  public  worship. 

"  II.  The  society  proposes  as  its  first  object  an  inquiry  into  the 
present  conduct  of  public  worship  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
the  various  orders  of  worship  in  actual  use. 

"  III.  The  society  proposes  to  study  the  modes  of  worship  which 
have  been  in  use  in  the  different  branches  of  the  Church,  and  especially 
in  those  Churches  known  as  the  Reformed,  of  which  we  are  one ;  and 
thus  to  recognize  the  importance  of  this  branch  of  historical  theology, 
to  make  its  lessons  clear  to  the  mind  of  the  Church,  and  to  strengthen 
in  our  services  the  links  which  bind  us  to  historic  Christianity. 

"  IV.  The  Society  aims  to  follow  this  study  of  the  present  conduct 
and  past  history  of  the  worship  of  the  Church  by  doing  such  work  iu 
the  preparation  of  forms  of  service  in  an  orderly  worship  as  may  help 
to  guard  against  the  contrary  evils  of  confusion  and  ritualism,  and 
promote  reverence  and  beauty  in  the  worship  of  God  in  His  holy 
House,  unity  and  the  spirit  of  common  praise  and  prayer  among  the 
people." 

The  Provisional  Constitution  of  the  American  Church  Service 
Society  is  added  :  — 

"  I.  The  name  of  the  Society  shall  be  The  Church  Service  Society 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America. 

"  11.  The  object  of  the  Society  shall  be  the  improvement  of  public 
worship  in  the  Church  upon  the  basis  set  forth  in  the  Statement  of 
Principles. 

"  III.  The  officers  of  the  Society  shall  be  a  President,  a  Vice-Presi- 
dent, a  Secretary,  a  Treasurer,  and  a  Committee  of  Twelve,  all  of 
whom  shall  be  elected  for  the  term  of  three  years,  and  shall  form  a 
Board  of  Management  for  the  Society. 


THE  IDEAL   OF  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP       333 

to  multiply  forms  of  prayer  ?  In  his  Introduction  to 
his  Systematic  Theology^  Dr.  Charles  Hodge  says :  ^ 
"So  legitimate  and  powerful  is  this  inward  teach- 
ing of  the  Spirit,  that  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  to 
find  men  having  two  theologies,  —  one  of  the  intel- 
lect, and  another  of  the  heart.  The  one  may  find 
expression  in  creeds  and  systems  of  divinity,  the 
other  in  their  prayers  and  hymns.  It  would  be  safe 
for  a  man  to  resolve  to  admit  into  his  theology 
nothing  which  is  not  sustained  by  the  devotional  >/ 
writings  of  true  Christians  of  every  denomination. 
It  would  be  easy  to  construct  from  such  writings, 
received  and  sanctioned  by  Romanists,  Lutherans, 

"  IV.  Clergymen  and  male  communicants  in  good  standing  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America  may  be  admitted 
to  membership  by  the  votes  of  a  majority  of  the  Board,  upon  the  ap- 
plicant's approval  of  the  Statement  of  Principles. 

"  V.  Members  shall  make  an  annual  payment  of  one  dollar  to  the 
funds  of  the  Society. 

"  VI.  Any  person  who  is  in  sympathy  with  the  objects  of  this  Society 
and  will  subscribe  the  Statement  of  Principles,  may  be  admitted  to 
associate  membership  by  a  vote  of  the  Board,  and  upon  payment  of 
the  annual  dues  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  a  copy  of  the  publications 
of  the  Society,  but  without  tlie  privilege  of  voting. 

"  VII.  Meetings  of  the  Society  for  the  election  of  officers  and  for 
other  purposes  shall  be  called  by  the  Board.  Members  may  send  their 
ballots  tlirough  the  mails. 

"  VIII.  Changes  in  the  Constitution  may  be  made  by  a  majority  of 
ballots  cast  at  any  meeting,  provided  that  one  month's  notice  of  the 
proposed  change  has  been  given  in  writiug  to  all  members. 

"  IX.  Changes  in  the  Statement  of  Principles  shall  be  made  only 
by  a  three-fourths  vote  of  all  the  members  of  the  Society,  three 
months'  notice  of  the  proposed  change  having  been  given  in  writing 
to  all  members." 

1  Vol.  i.  pp.  16,  17. 


334  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

Reformed,  and  Remonstrants,  a  system  of  Pauline  or 
Aiigiistinian  theology,  such  as  would  satisfy  any  in- 
telligent and  devout  Christian  in  the  world."  This 
statement  may  be  assumed  to  be  orthodox.  Accord- 
ingly, Christians  of  "every  denomination"  may  be 
asked  and  expected  to  unite  with  a  good  degree  of 
uniformity  in  their  "prayers  and  hymns."  So  the 
historical  spirit,  the  tradition  of  the  churches,  the 
common  longing  for  church  unity,  the  sacredness 
and  the  beauty  of  the  affluent  liturgical  literature 
which  we  inherit  from  the  centuries,  and  the  con- 
fessed deficiency  and  inadequacy  of  the  average 
extemporaneous  prayer,  —  all  these  things  unite  in  a 
common  demand  for  some  prescribed  forms  of  wor- 
ship. ^  The  Lord's  Prayer,  all  will  agree,  should 
have  place  and  prominence,  and  it  should  be  repeated 
in  unison  by  the  whole  congregation.  In  Rhenish 
Prussia,  and  elsewhere,  the  beautiful  custom  has  pre- 
vailed of  tolling  the  bell  when  the  Lord's  Prayer  is 
J  repeated  in  the  public  worship,  so  that  those  who 
are  detained  from  the  house  of  God  by  sickness  or 
other  causes  may  join  in  the  common  service.  The 
Commandments  should  be  read,  combining  duty  with 

1  In  an  article  in  the  "  New  Englander"  for  August,  1855,  the  late 
Dr.  Leonard  Bacon,  with  characteristic  positiveness,  made  this  state- 
ment :  "  The  responsive  reading  of  the  Psalms  and  of  other  devotional 
parts  of  Scripture,  between  the  minister  and  the  congregation,  or  the 
repetition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  by  the  whole  assembly,  would  be  quite 
certain  to  break  down  if  attempted  in  any  of  our  churches.  Anything 
of  that  sort,  we  are  sure,  will  be  a  failure."  This  reads  strangely  now. 
"  We  are  sure  "  the  good  Doctor  has  not  proved  a  good  prophet. 


THE  IDEAL   OF   CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP       335 

devotion,  and,  as  I  said  before,  the  Apostles'  Creed 
should  be  repeated  in  unison.     To  these  should  be 
added  the  "Te  Deum,"  the  "Tersanctus,"  and  the  "^ 
"Sursum  Corda,"  the  latter  in  connection  with  the 
Communion  serivce.     So  far  as  this  most  are  will- 
ing to  go.     The  ideal,  however,  demands  something 
more.     The  opponents  of  all  forms  of  prayer  assume 
that  one  man  can  be  large  enough  to  comprehend  and 
to  represent  five  hundred  men.     This  seems  a  mon- 
strous assumption.     No  one  man  can  reasonably  be 
expected  to  be  large  enough  or  elastic  enough  to 
comprehend  so  much.     The  priesthood  of  the  people 
must  not  be  overshadowed  and  suppressed   by  the 
excessive  and  false  assumption  of  priesthood  by  the 
minister  who  is  only  a  minister.     So  the  ideal  of 
prayer  calls  us  further.     Nothing  could  be  more  beau- 
tiful and  appropriate  for  the  beginning  of  the  Sab- 
bath worship  than  such  Scriptures  as  introduce  the 
"Order  for  Daily  Morning  Prayer  ":  —  " The  Lord 
is  in  His  holy  temple ;  let  all  the  earth  keep  silence 
before  Him.     I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me, 
We  will  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord.    Let  the  words 
of  my  mouth   and  the  meditation  of  my  heart,  be 
alway  acceptable  in  thy  sight,  0  Lord,  my  strength 
and  my  redeemer.     Grace  be   unto  you,   and  peace 
from    God    our   Father,    and   from  the   Lord   Jesus 
Christ."     Then    a  form  of   confession,    another  of 
general  thanksgiving,   a  prayer  for  the  President  of 
the   United   States   and   for   all    in   authority,  and 
another  for   "all  classes   and  conditions  of  men," 


336  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP 

might  be  used  in  common  by  all  the  churches  of  all 
denominations,  and  such  unison  and  uniformity  seem 
to  me  ideal.  It  may  not  be  best  that  these  forms 
should  be  taken  from  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
though  this  would  be  my  preference ;  it  may  be  better 
that  they  should  be  compiled  from  that  and  also  from 
other  existing  liturgies.  The  important  thing  is  not 
to  add  to  divisiveness  and  confusion  by  making  new 
forms.  Added  to  these  forms  there  should  be  free 
prayer,  in  which  the  pastor's  heart  may  intercede  for 
his  people  under  the  pressing  consciousness  of  their 
immediate  and  characteristic  wants.  It  would  be 
the  ideal  of  worship  if  all  Christians  of  all  denom- 
inations could  be  outwardly  one  at  least  in  song  and 
in  prayer.  Thus  on  the  one  hand  might  be  avoided 
the  danger  which  freedom  in  public  worship  involves, 
—  the  danger  of  lawlessness,  disorder,  and  narrow 
inadequacy;  and  on  the  other  hand  might  be  avoided 
the  danger  which  fixedness  in  public  worship  in- 
volves, —  namely,  the  danger  of  formality,  monotony, 
and  restraint.  The  ideal  must  be  the  combination 
or  the  interblending  of  the  two  methods  which  have 
obtained  so  long,  the  liturgical  and  the  non-litur- 
gical. The  best  things  in  each  method  should  be 
adopted  and  unified.  Then  and  thus  the  real  one- 
ness of  all  believers  would  be  proclaimed  and  empha- 
sized; then  and  thus  the  churches  which  differ  in 
polity  or  in  doctrine  would  be  visibly  one  before  the 
throne  of  grace. 

The  ideal  of  Christian  ivorship,  —  feeble  and  inad- 


THE  IDEAL   OF   CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP       337 

equate  must  be  the  attempts  of  any  one  man  to  set 
forth  such  a  theme.  Even  an  archangel  could  not 
do  it,  for  he  could  not  know  and  feel  the  Christian 
element  in  worship.  The  fallen  and  the  believing, 
and  only  they,  can  realize  that  ideal.  We  try  to  do 
it;  we  long  to  do  it;  we  vie  with  animate  and  inan- 
imate nature  to  swell  the  volume  of  adoration  which 
this  stricken  and  struggling  earth  is  ever  sending  up 
to  the  throne  of  the  Eternal,  and  God  is  always  lis- 
tening and  is  always  gracious. 

*'  From  hill  to  hill,  from  field  to  gi'ove, 
Across  the  waves,  around  the  sky, 
There  's  not  a  spot,  or  deep  or  high, 
Where  the  Creator  has  not  trod. 
And  left  the  footstep  of  a  God. 
But  are  his  footsteps  all  that  we. 
Poor  grov'ling  worms,  must  know  or  see? 
Thou  Maker  of  my  vital  frame, 
Unveil  thy  face,  pronounce  thy  name. 
Shine  to  my  sight,  and  let  the  ear 
Which  Thou  hast  formed,  thy  language  hear. 
Where  is  thy  residence  ?     Oh !  why 
Dost  Thou  avoid  my  searching  eye, 
My  longing  sense  ?     Thou  great  Unknown, 
Say,  do  the  clouds  conceal  thy  throne  ? 
Divide,  ye  clouds,  and  let  me  see 
The  power  that  gives  me  leave  to  be. 
Or  art  Thou  all  diffused  abroad 
Thro'  boundless  space,  a  present  God, 
Unseen,  unheard,  yet  ever  near  ? 
What  shall  I  do  to  find  Thee  here? 
Is  there  not  some  mysterious  art 
To  feel  thy  presence  at  my  heart? 
22 


338  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP 

To  hear  thy  whispers  soft  and  kind, 
In  holy  silence  of  the  mind  ? 
Then  rest,  my  thoughts  ;  no  longer  roam 
In  quest  of  joy,  for  heaven  's  at  home."  ^ 

1  Watts's  Works,  iv.  510. 


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